


My Husband is a Secret Agent

by t_dragon



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Action & Romance, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Spy, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Kidnapping, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-08
Updated: 2018-05-07
Packaged: 2019-01-10 21:38:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 55,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12308316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/t_dragon/pseuds/t_dragon
Summary: Park Chanyeol knew Byun Baekhyun was the one for him. They were simply perfect together - but of course, in real life nothing is ever perfect. Maybe they could be perfectly imperfect instead?





	1. Chapter I

 With a glass of expensive champagne in his hand and the collar of his shirt uncomfortably tight around his throat, Park Chanyeol felt out of place.

 Sure, he was used to dealing with rich clientele on a regular basis, but attending an extravagant party filled with rich brats and snotty older couples, Chanyeol knew he did not fit in. If he could, he would be sitting in his sofa in a too-large hoodie and sweatpants, a bottle of beer in his hand, watching some silly rom-com. Instead, he was stuck in this fancy ballroom, in this fancy hotel, with its fancy chandeliers and its fancy waiters. Feeling not-so-fancy…

 “Chanyeol!” someone exclaimed, and Chanyeol turned around to find his boss motioning for him. “Come here, come here! You clean up good, my boy!”

 Chanyeol bowed and smiled politely, looking around the small group gathered.

 “Thank you, Mr. Oh,” Chanyeol said, feeling a bit bashful. He was not used to the compliments either, though it felt a bit backhanded…

 “Oh, don’t be shy, boy!” Mr. Oh said, laughing and patting Chanyeol’s shoulder. “He might look timid, but let me tell you, Park Chanyeol is one of my best employees!”

 Mr. Oh got into a long discussion about Chanyeol’s different accomplishments, and strangely many of them seemed to have been helped along by Mr. Oh himself. But this was one thing Chanyeol was used to; his superiors bragging about him and simultaneously bragging about themselves. So Chanyeol just kept quiet and nodded along, because that was what you did.

 “Oh, by the way, Chanyeol, have you seen my son?” Mr. Oh asked suddenly, and Chanyeol almost nodded along to that as well.

 “Uh, no, sir, I haven’t,” Chanyeol said, lying with a smile on his face. “But I’ll go try to see if I can find him.”

 Before Mr. Oh had the opportunity to tell him that ‘that was not necessary’, Chanyeol had set off to find Mr. Oh’s son - who also happened to be Chanyeol’s best friend, and maybe a part of why Chanyeol had managed to land a job in that particular firm. Not that Chanyeol had lacked the proper education or anything, but contacts were always good to have.

 Chanyeol had actually seen Oh Sehun disappear earlier, and he just hoped the guy was back from whatever he had been doing by now. Chanyeol felt uncomfortable and needed to talk to someone who understood. At least somewhat.

 As Chanyeol headed towards the door leading out into the corridor and to the bathrooms - where he had last seen Sehun - he bumped into someone, almost spilling his nearly drained glass of champagne in the process.

 “Oh, sorry, I'm terribly sorry,” Chanyeol blurted out, before he got a good luck at the guy.

 Which was good, because _the guy_ kind of took his breath away, making Chanyeol unable to speak. The man in front of Chanyeol was blessed with skillfully lined droopy eyes, perfectly rounded cheeks and cute triangular lips, all set in a face framed by light brown hair. Chanyeol could see at least two small moles on that smooth skin, and he kind of wanted to find out if there were more.

 “No worries, I wasn’t looking where I was going,” the guy said, sending a charming grin at Chanyeol that made his heart skip a beat. “No harm done!”

 Chanyeol mentally slapped himself, forcing his mouth to spit _something_ out.

 “Too bad,” Chanyeol managed to say, before clearing his throat and simultaneously panicking, ending up choking a bit. “That’s good, I mean that’s good! Sorry, that’s good, great actually!”

 The man sent him a half-amused, half-confused look, nodding slowly, and Chanyeol cursed his sudden bout of stupidness. Chanyeol might not be a Casanova, but he was not the worst flirter either. Normally, that was.

 “You’re cute,” the man said, startling Chanyeol. Not many described him with ‘cute’, after all. “Really cute…”

 As his grin turned into a smirk, the man disappeared into the crowd, leaving Chanyeol staring after him. What just happened?

 “If you don’t close your mouth, I think you’ll start drooling soon,” someone said behind Chanyeol, a hand coming down on his shoulder and making him jump.

 Turning around so quickly that some of the expensive liquid spilled over his hand, Chanyeol came face to face with the man he had been looking for - Sehun.

 “Holy shithead, you scared me!” Chanyeol hissed, earning himself a gasp from a lady standing nearby. Shooting her an apologetic smile, he pulled Sehun out into the corridor outside of the ballroom. “I’ve been looking for you, your father wants to know where you are.”

 “I’m guessing you have other motives for finding me, considering you pulled me _away_ from my dad, and not _towards_ him,” Sehun said, snatching a champagne flute from a tray held by a waiter passing by.

 “Well, yeah, I’m kinda dying and am in need of a friend, and that’s where you come in,” Chanyeol said, sighing and holding himself back from dragging a hand through his styled hair, not wanting to mess it up. “Seriously, how do you deal with this stuff?”

 Sehun raised a brow as he took a sip from the champagne.

 “Obviously I get drunk and disappear every now and then to breathe,” Sehun answered as he lowered his glass, the barest of smirks creeping onto his lips. “Or do other things…”

 Chanyeol gasped, much like the lady in the ballroom, his eyes widening.

 “You disappear to have _sex_ with random people during parties?” Chanyeol exclaimed, trying to keep his voice down at least a little bit.

 “Your words, not mine,” Sehun said, shrugging and starting to walk away. “Maybe that’s what you need to relax, Yeol. How long since you last got laid, by the way?”

 Chanyeol felt the blush on his skin appear even as he tried to fight it off, not really feeling like discussing his sexual life - or lack thereof - with Oh Sehun just outside of a large gala in an equally large ballroom.

 “None of your business,” Chanyeol muttered, but by Sehun’s little chuckle, he knew that was the wrong answer.

 Of course, since he was Chanyeol’s best friend, he already knew how long it had been since Chanyeol had gotten laid. He just liked to tease him a bit about it.

 “Honestly, I’m sure you can find _someone_ in here willing to help you out,” Sehun said, nodding towards the doors letting out the noise of so many people gathered in the same space. “That cute guy you were drooling over might be able and want to.”

 “Hey, by the way, do you know who he was?” Chanyeol asked, trying to not sound as eager as he felt.

 “Not a clue,” Sehun answered, much to Chanyeol’s sorrow. “Not one of the normal gang, but he did seem familiar… Do you want me to ask around?”

 “Uh, no, please, don’t do that,” Chanyeol said, grimacing. “The last thing I need is Oh Sehun trying to find a cute guy for me. We know how well that’s gone in the past…”

 “Hey, how was I supposed to know that Jongin would snatch Kyungsoo from right beneath your nose?” Sehun complained. “I thought he was straight!”

 Chanyeol raised both of his eyebrows at Sehun, pursing his lips.

 “Really? Ballet-dancing, dog-loving sweetheart Jongin, straight? Not to play into the stereotypes, but really? Saw that coming from a _mile_ away.”

 Sehun dismissively waved his hand, eyes scanning the room in front of them.

 “Yeah, yeah, sure you did, whatever. Just let me know if you want my help. Need to go socialize a bit now, take care, Park.”

 And just like that, Sehun was gone, leaving Chanyeol to stare after someone for the second time that evening. Then he sighed, cursing his choice of best friend. He had needed comforting, not being more riled up!

 Throwing back the last of the champagne in his glass, Chanyeol quickly got a new one and downed half of the content, before going back into the crowd again. He was there for a reason, and he was going to make his boss proud! ...Or try, at least.

 

~*~

 

 “Tell me how much you love me,” Sehun purred from his seat on top of Chanyeol’s desk.

 “You’re confusing hate with love,” Chanyeol mumbled, too into his work to pay full attention to Sehun.

 It was not that it was unusual for this scene to play out, after all; Sehun invading Chanyeol’s work and personal space, and Chanyeol snapping back. They were pretty famous around the office for their ‘cute friendship’, actually.

 “Worst friend ever, why do I even bother,” Sehun muttered, before picking the pen out of Chanyeol’s hand and spinning it between his fingers, holding it out of reach as Chanyeol protested and tried to get it back. “Yo, Park, I’m the best fucking friend ever, some appreciation would be great!”

 Chanyeol sighed and took his glasses off, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

 “What have you done now?” he asked in a monotonous voice, letting Sehun now he was really not in the mood.

 But Sehun just grinned, enjoying Chanyeol playing along too much to bother about it not being authentic.

 “ _I_ secured you a spot as my plus one at a Halloween party this weekend - no, shut up - a Halloween party where there’s a pretty high chance a certain someone might attend…”

 Chanyeol’s eyes grew to double their size, needing no more clue to understand who Sehun was talking about.

 Even though Chanyeol still did not know who the guy from the gala a few weeks back had been, he had managed to find out a few things. Like the fact that he attended socialite parties and galas every now and then - the more celebrities, the higher chance of this person attending. Maybe he was a crazy stalker fan, like Sehun had suggested, but Chanyeol’s gut told him there was something else to it.

 And frankly, the guy was hot, Chanyeol would not mind meeting him again. At all, actually.

 Gripping Sehun’s suit jacket with both hands, Chanyeol pulled him down, frowning so hard he was about to get a headache.

 “You little shit!” Chanyeol hissed. “A few days is not enough time to get a Halloween costume!”

 “Like you haven’t already planned something,” Sehun said, smirking, and Chanyeol cursed the fact that he knew him so well.

 Because yes, Chanyeol already had his entire costume done - in fact, it had been completed since the end of August. He just was not sure if it was fitting for a socialite Halloween party…

 

 Unfortunately, Chanyeol was swamped with work during the entire week, and soon, the weekend arrived, and with it, the Halloween party. So Chanyeol had to make due with his already planned costume.

 “I seriously don’t know why you’re complaining, you look good,” Sehun said, righting his glasses. “Perfectly emulating the craziness.”

 Chanyeol shot Sehun a glare and held up his fake gun.

 “Careful, or I might show you how I got these scars,” Chanyeol mumbled, unable to keep himself from going at least part cheesy.

 “You’re so stupid,” Sehun simply said, before leading the way inside.

 The large room was dim and darkly decorated, in a very cheesy way, with paper bats and cats and spiders, along with spiderweb draped over most available surfaces.

 “So… This is looking… Not gonna lie, kinda shit,” Chanyeol mumbled, looking around.

 “When you get drunk enough, you don’t care,” Sehun said, shrugging a bit. “But yeah, kind of shitty-looking. Oh, hey, here, by the way.”

 Chanyeol looked down at the card Sehun was handing him, frowning.

 “What is this…?” Chanyeol asked, though he had a suspicion about what it was.

 “The number is the room, have fun,” Sehun said, winking and slapping Chanyeol on the back. “Oh, I see someone I need to say hello to… Remember, check-out is at noon tomorrow, have fun!”

 And with that, Sehun was off, leaving Chanyeol to stare after him. He really should be used to this now.

 “Wow, I almost didn’t recognize you,” an amused voice said, and Chanyeol spun around to find a vampire standing behind him.

 A very familiar vampire…

 “Must be because you look more hot than cute now,” the vampire said, grinning, and Chanyeol gasped as he realized.

 “ _You!_ ” he exclaimed, pointing at the vampire with his gun.

 The man grinned, the pointy vampire teeth making him look charmingly dangerous - or dangerously charming? - as he held his hands up, one holding a champagne flute of what looked like some strange mix between champagne and blood.

 “Yes, _me_. And you do know that you need to _stake_ me to kill me, right?” the vampire said, his voice almost a low purr that did strange things to Chanyeol’s insides. And called forth images in his mind that maybe were not so appropriate. “It’s Baekhyun, by the way.”

 The vampire - Baekhyun - took one hand down and held it out towards Chanyeol, who stared at it for half a second, before realizing that he should take it.

 “Chanyeol,” Chanyeol said, clearing his throat and shaking the slender and a bit cold hand. “And the gun is a fake, so…”

 “Kind of realized that,” Baekhyun said, winking, and Chanyeol realized he probably should let go of his hand. But he wanted to keep it, warm it up between his own hands, and then do the same to Baekhyun’s other hand.

 Instead, Chanyeol slowly dropped Baekhyun’s hand, and Baekhyun let their fingers stay connected until the very last moment, before their hands fell to their sides.

 “So… Was that a keycard to a room you got?” Baekhyun asked, his grin turning into a smirk as Chanyeol’s hand went to the back pocket into which he had put the card Sehun had given him just mere minutes ago.

 

 Chanyeol pushed Baekhyun up against the door as he fumbled with getting the card into the lock. Baekhyun’s hands were busy with Chanyeol’s tie and vest, his champagne flute lying forgotten in a corner of the elevator.

 The door clicked unlocked, and muttering a curse or something against Baekhyun’s lips, Chanyeol managed to get the door open, the both of them stumbling inside. Within seconds, and before the door had even been (kicked) closed, Chanyeol’s suit jacket and vest had been discarded, soon followed by his tie. Chanyeol proceeded to rid Baekhyun of the ridiculous cape, and then his suit jacket, pulling back a little to look down at the man now standing in a pair of tight black pants and a white ruffle shirt. His makeup was smeared, mixed together with some of Chanyeol’s, and his hair was all messed up, but he still looked devilishly handsome.

 Slowly, Baekhyun began to step backwards, towards the bed, unbuttoning one button of his shirt at a time, revealing centimeter after centimeter of delicious skin. There was a teasing smirk on his lips, showing a hint of fang, and Chanyeol _wanted_.

 Stalking after the vampire, Chanyeol quickly undid his own shirt and threw it away, unable to tear his gaze away from the firm abdomen being exposed.

 “Oh, I _like_ ,” Baekhyun murmured, his eyes feasting on Chanyeol’s torso, tongue darting out across his lips.

 “Exactly my thoughts,” Chanyeol breathed as he was finally in front of Baekhyun and able to get that _goddamn shirt off_.

 Baekhyun gave a charming laugh that Chanyeol broke off with his lips, before making them crash down on top of the bed. Immediately, the temperature in the room went up with several degrees, matching the fire in their veins.

 Chanyeol had never made out with a vampire, but he had to admit, it was one hell of an experience. Especially as Baekhyun flipped them over and began to nibble his way down Chanyeol’s throat, the fake teeth scraping across his sensitive skin.

 “Those teeth are _amazing_!” Chanyeol gasped, arching his back and digging his fingers into Baekhyun’s thighs as the other’s chuckle sent shivers down his spine.

 “Thank you,” Baekhyun ghosted over Chanyeol’s skin as he mouthed his way down, stopping only momentarily to flick his tongue over a nipple and drag a moan out of the man squirming beneath him.

 “Though I’m not sure I want them near my- _oh god_ ,” Chanyeol choked out, giving a full-body shudder as a slender hand found its way down his pants and wrapped around him. “ _Fuck me!_ ”

 “On my way, baby,” Baekhyun purred, his voice rough and wreaking havoc with Chanyeol’s mind as his hand destroyed the rest of Chanyeol.

 Managing to blink his eyes open, Chanyeol looked up to watch Baekhyun on top of him, one fake vampire tooth digging into his lower lip, eyes so dark even with the lenses, the muscles in his arm playing with each stroke. Even with red and white makeup smeared across his lower face, Baekhyun looked incredibly sexy. That combined with his literal lack of a sex life was quite quickly propelling Chanyeol towards the edge, but he tried to hold on. _By the gods_ did he not want this to end too soon.

 But he almost whined as Baekhyun retreated his hand, the vampire sitting back and adjusting himself with a grimace.

 “I really chose the wrong pants today,” he muttered, and Chanyeol found it oddly charming.

 “How about getting out of them?” Chanyeol suggested, his voice a bit hoarse. Had he been moaning that much?

 “I think I like how you think,” Baekhyun murmured, leaning forwards on his arms to be able to bend down and place a quick kiss on Chanyeol’s lips. “We should probably get you out of yours as well. Do you think there’s any lube around?”

 Chanyeol felt his cheeks heat up at the mention of ‘lube’, not used to talking out loud about it. It was not that he was a prude or something, he was just a bit… Shy about certain things.

 Baekhyun, who had already climbed off of Chanyeol and was shimmying out of his jeans, threw the taller a quick glance, the corners of his lips curling up and showing his fangs.

 “What are you blushing about? Oh, dear, are you a virgin? Is this your first homosexual experience?” Baekhyun asked, making it sound both like teasing and honest questions, leaving Chanyeol blushing even harder.

 “What, no!” Chanyeol spluttered, sitting up and yanking his shoes off to busy himself with something. “Just not used to… Well, _lube_ being thrown around so carelessly…”

 Baekhyun’s smirk grew wider, and Chanyeol truly did not think anyone should look so sexy with smeared makeup and their pants half-off, but here Baekhyun was anyway, defying everything.

 “So cute,” Baekhyun cooed, getting his pants fully off. Throwing them somewhere on the floor, he walked over to one of the nightstands and opened a drawer, throwing several quick looks back at Chanyeol. “You looks so tall and handsome, but in reality, you really are just a teddy bear or something. Honestly don’t know if I want to cuddle you to heaven or fuck you into a mess.”

 Chanyeol pressed a hand against his heart, as it was suddenly beating way too fast. He was shocked, but also very turned on, and this might be bad for him.

 “How about we compromise and do both?” Baekhyun suggested, closing the drawer and standing up straight with a grin, showing off the lube and condoms he had managed to find. “I’ll make you into a panting mess before showing you heaven?”

 “Wow,” Chanyeol squeaked, trying to keep his eyes away from the bulge so perfectly on display at his eye-level. “Yes, _please_.”

 Baekhyun gave a semi-evil laugh as he attacked Chanyeol once more, in record time freeing the taller from his clothes. Chanyeol was quickly brought back to that high again, easily becoming a panting mess beneath Baekhyun’s skilled hands and mouth, and those _goddamn_ teeth.

 “Are you ready for heaven?” Baekhyun breathed into Chanyeol’s ear as his slender fingers wrapped around Chanyeol’s length, stroking it in time to the thrusts.

 Chanyeol threw his head back, mouth open but no sound coming out, as his fingers gripped the sheet beneath him until they were as white as the cotton. He was oh so _deliciously_ close, and when he finally came, his moans and gasps and whines were all swallowed up by the man he had bumped into only twice, and who was literally bumping into him now. And Chanyeol did not care that it was sloppy, and that the fangs were probably harming his lips and tongue slightly, because he just wanted to kiss Baekhyun again. And again, because he was a really good kisser, and Chanyeol had missed the closeness.

 Yeah, Chanyeol was not good at being alone. And he was pretty sure he was developing a fang kink.

 Gasping and panting, they collapsed in a heap all tangled together, trying to catch their breaths and calm down.

 “Whoa, I’m not moving for the next hour or so…,” Baekhyun mumbled. Chanyeol could only nod as he straightened his legs, wincing a bit over his tense and sore muscles. He was feeling way too good to do anything except lie in this bed for a long time.

 But he did whine a little as Baekhyun moved off of him, the shorter instead snuggling into Chanyeol’s side and basically draping himself halfway across Chanyeol’s chest. And it was not until Baekhyun intertwined their legs that Chanyeol felt content enough to close his eyes, and let exhaustion and a really good orgasm drag him down into a deep sleep.

 

 When Chanyeol woke up, he was alone.

 He was honestly not that surprised - he did not expect a good fuck and for Baekhyun to be there in the morning, but it still made him ache a little bit.

 Sitting up, Chanyeol dragged a hand through his hair and yawned, wondering what the clock was. He only then realized that he was still covered in his own cum, and grimaced in disgust. Lifting the cover to check how bad it was, he noticed something black on his thigh.

 Throwing the cover back completely, Chanyeol gave a small gasp as he noticed the little message and number scribbled down across his skin.

_‘Hey, cute, had to go, but I had a great time last night. Wouldn’t mind letting this happen again - I’ll even bring the fangs ;) text me some day, I’d love to just talk to you. XO BH_

_P.S. You have no problem with fuck, but blush with lube? Honestly, I would really love to talk to you, you seem like an interesting little puppy!’_

 Chanyeol slapped his hands over his cheeks and squealed, extremely happy that he was alone at the moment. Scrambling for his pants, he quickly fished his phone out, before trying to take as clear of a picture as possible of his thigh. He really needed a shower, but he also really wanted to keep the message. It contained a _phone number_ , to _Baekhyun_ , the best Chanyeol had ever had in bed!

 Deeming the picture good enough, Chanyeol took a moment to softly sigh and question what the fuck he was doing. Was this such a good idea? He literally knew nothing about Baekhyun - the guy could be a serial killer!

 But at the same time… The guy was hot, so why not indulge a little bit?


	2. Chapter II

 Chanyeol could only hold himself back for a day and a half, before using the number now extremely blurred, but still clinging, to his thigh.

 “Hello?” Baekhyun’s voice floated over the line, making Chanyeol shudder, remembering so many things.

 “Uh, hi…? Are you, uhm, busy?” Chanyeol said, hesitantly, noticing how strained Baekhyun’s voice was.

 “Nah, just exercising,” Baekhyun said cheerfully, before a grunt was heard. “Almost thought you wouldn’t call me, actually. Took your sweet time, cutiepie!”

 Chanyeol gave an awkward laugh, scratching the side of his neck.

 “Well, I didn’t want to seem too desperate- I mean, exercising, huh?” Chanyeol said, clearing his throat as his mind was flooded with images of a hunky vampire on top of him, smirking down with fangs showing. “Yeah, it shows…”

 A charming laugh flowed out of the phone, making Chanyeol smile softly.

 “I’ll take that as a compliment, thank you,” Baekhyun chuckled. “You know what? How about I call you back after I’ve finished exercising, and we can, I don’t know, talk or something? I was serious with the message I left, you know.”

 “Hey, about that, why did you leave it on my thigh?” Chanyeol asked, seriously wondering.

 “Well, you have a thing for my fangs, I might have a thing for your thighs,” Baekhyun purred, and Chanyeol felt like swooning. “I’ll call you back later, okay?”

 “Uh, yeah, sure, please do,” Chanyeol breathed, a soft chuckle filling his ear.

 “Oh, I will. Bye for now, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun said, before the line disconnected, leaving Chanyeol sitting with a silly grin on his face.

 

 “No, but seriously, how do blush at ‘lube’, but not at ‘fuck’?” Baekhyun asked, and Chanyeol could hear the smirk.

 “It’s all about context, I guess!” Chanyeol exclaimed, sighing as he dragged a hand through his hair. “I don’t know?”

 “Are you blushing now?” Baekhyun snickered.

 “No,” Chanyeol muttered, but it was a weak ‘no’ that hinted at the redness of his cheeks and the tips of his ears.

 Because Chanyeol was blushing quite hard at the moment, and it got even worse as Baekhyun let out another charming laugh.

 “You totally are!” Baekhyun almost shrieked, and Chanyeol could not help but smile a bit at how adorable it was.

 Baekhyun switched between a handsome tease and a cute guy in the matter of seconds, and even though Chanyeol could only hear the other’s voice, he was entranced by it all the same.

 “Okay, I’m sorry for teasing you about it,” Baekhyun said, suddenly sobered up. “It is really cute, you know… Makes me want to hug you and smooch your cheeks, honestly.”

 Chanyeol pulled his knees up to his chest, pressing his face against them as he held back a giggle.

 “I mean, I wouldn’t mind that…,” Chanyeol mumbled into the phone, now blushing from how forwards he was.

 A deep sigh was heard, and Chanyeol went from giddy to worried in less than a second, sitting up straight and putting his legs down.

 “Are you okay?” he asked softly, frowning a bit at the slight humorless chuckle coming over the line.

 “Yeah, it’s just… I know we’ve only been talking for, uh, about twenty minutes, and that we’ve ended up in bed together once, but I just… I really like talking to you. A lot.”

 “And that is bad…?” Chanyeol slowly said, worryings his lower lip. He felt both happy and anxious, seeing as Baekhyun was basically admitting to _liking_ him, but it sounded like a very big ‘but’ was coming. And not Baekhyun’s glorious butt, which was honestly perfectly big… Chanyeol tried to rein his treacherous thoughts back in, blinking his eyes rapidly and shaking his head.

 “Well, yes and no,” Baekhyun said, sounding a bit tired. “I don’t really, hm, do relationships, I guess?”

 “Oh,” Chanyeol said, his heart sinking a little bit. He tried to shove his pain away as he gave a little laugh, wincing over how awkward it sounded. “Well, I mean, like you said, a one-night stand and twenty minutes of talking over the phone, right? That doesn’t mean we have to define where we’re standing, right?”

 The line went silent, and Chanyeol almost wondered if Baekhyun had clicked him or something, except he had not heard the clicking, so…

 “I guess so,” Baekhyun mumbled, sounding slightly more happy, and Chanyeol felt relief flood him. “Yeah, I mean, that’s true. Hey, what are you doing at the moment?”

 Chanyeol felt a bit taken aback by the question, looking around his living room.

 “Uh, except talking to you? Just sitting around…?” Chanyeol answered. “Why?”

 “Ah, I’m feeling a bit hungry, after all the exercising I did, so how about some Chinese or something?” Baekhyun asked, the amusement back in his voice.

 

 “Seriously, I had no idea your ears were so sensitive,” Baekhyun marveled, touching one of the said ears and making shivers course through Chanyeol’s body. “It’s amazing, I can just imagine all the fun I can have with them…”

 “I think you already did that,” Chanyeol mumbled, sighing softly as he snuggled his face into Baekhyun’s chest and threw an arm over the shorter’s waist.

 “Nah, that was just light exploration, now that I know how sensitive you are I’ll have so much more fun,” Baekhyun smirked, letting two fingers slide behind Chanyeol’s ear.

Chanyeol curled in on himself as he shuddered, a moan slipping through his lips even as he tried to hold it in.

 “Sh-shit, how did you figure that spot out?” Chanyeol gasped, finally able to squirm away from Baekhyun’s fingers.

 “I’m good at noticing things,” Baekhyun said, grinning as he rolled over onto his stomach and got up on his elbows. “Like that tattoo… What does ‘LOEY’ stand for?”

 Chanyeol held his left hand up, looking at the tattoo on his middle finger.

 “I have a sort of songwriter hobby, and Loey is the name I use for it,” Chanyeol said, smiling. “Yeol backwards, you know?”

 “Oh, that’s pretty smart,” Baekhyun said, mouth forming a small ‘o’. “So you’re an amateur musician? Which instruments do you play?”

 “A few, but mostly the guitar,” Chanyeol answered, pointing towards the wall where he had a few guitars hanging, grinning. “I thought you were good at noticing things?”

 Baekhyun crawled on top of Chanyeol and began to drag his nails across Chanyeol’s scalp, making him squirm and mewl.

 “I noticed the guitars, I just thought you liked collecting them!” Baekhyun exclaimed, trying to stay in place as Chanyeol tried to buck him off.

 “Okay, okay, I surrender!” Chanyeol gasped, and Baekhyun finally ceased the sweet torture, grinning as he plopped his chin down on top of Chanyeol’s chest. “Holy shit, that was… I don’t know if that was arousing or annoying?”

 “Both?” Baekhyun suggested, chuckling a bit. “Back to the guitars, I want to hear you play!”

 “Uh, now?” Chanyeol asked a bit weakly.

 “Yes, now!” Baekhyun said, grin changing from lazy to beaming as he pushed himself off of Chanyeol and pressing the air out of Chanyeol’s lungs in the process. After a quick ‘sorry!’, Baekhyun slipped out of the bed and walked over to the wall with the guitars, completely nude, and Chanyeol could do nothing more but stare at the _beautiful_ man. As he was looking at the guitars, Baekhyun pulled his lower lip between his teeth, a hand going through his hair to push it out of his face, and Chanyeol’s heart skipped so many beats he thought he might be experiencing a heart attack.

 “So, which one do you normally play on?” Baekhyun asked, and Chanyeol shook his head to clear it and bring himself back to reality.

 “Uhm, it’s actually in my studio,” Chanyeol said as he sat up, pulling the cover across his lap. “But the red one over there is tuned properly.”

 Baekhyun carefully lifted the Gibson Hummingbird off of its hook, before carrying it back to the bed and gently handing it over to Chanyeol. Which Chanyeol was kind of grateful for, considering how much it cost… Plus he loved his guitars, they were his babies!

 After having handed Chanyeol the guitar, Baekhyun got back into the bed, crossing his legs and looking at Chanyeol with anticipation.

 “You know, this is kinda new to me…,” Chanyeol mumbled, shyly looking down at the guitar in his lap. “Playing guitar naked… Well, that’s happened before, but with another naked person next to me?”

 “You’ve played the guitar naked before?” Baekhyun asked, raising a brow. “Sounds like one hell of a story?”

 “So, what do you want to hear?” Chanyeol exclaimed, laughing awkwardly as he felt the tips of his ears burn. “Something famous, or something I’ve written?”

 Baekhyun gave an amused smile, but dropped the previous topic - much to Chanyeol’s relief.

 “How about something made by you? Give me a piece of that talent,” Baekhyun suggested.

 “I thought I already did?” Chanyeol joked, fighting back the heat on his cheeks as Baekhyun burst out laughing, before Chanyeol started to pluck the strings. “Sure, I can play you something by me. Uhm, wait…”

 Baekhyun patiently waited during the four seconds it took Chanyeol to decide what to play, feeling shy and bashful. It was not the first time Chanyeol played in front of someone, he had actually been fairly popular during his college days, but it was different with Baekhyun.

 Everything was different with Baekhyun. And so, Chanyeol did something different.

 Instead of playing a finished song, Chanyeol opted for playing the notes twinkling through his mind, like little stars winking in the night sky. Or like the stars in Baekhyun’s eyes that made Chanyeol lose himself in them. The trickling notes soon became a flowing river that Chanyeol transferred to his guitar, letting the sound envelop them. Chanyeol kept his eyes closed as he played, focusing, but he could still feel Baekhyun, in front and a little to the left of him, sitting completely still.

 Chanyeol played the notes for a while, repeated them once, before letting them fade away again. Opening his eyes, he saw Baekhyun stare at him, face blank, and Chanyeol felt worry grip his heart.

 “Are you okay?” Chanyeol whispered, something holding him back from raising his voice more than that. Slowly, Baekhyun nodded, seemingly coming back to reality.

 “Yeah, that… That was amazing…,” Baekhyun mumbled, and the seriousness in his voice and body language made Chanyeol a bit breathless. “Do you have any lyrics for that?”

 “Actually, I kinda made that up on the go,” Chanyeol chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck and feeling a bit awkward. “Inspiration hit me and I just sort of went with the flow…”

 Baekhyun’s eyes widened a bit, and he looked so shocked Chanyeol almost felt offended.

 “ _Really_? You just made that up now? Shit, you’re talented alright,” Baekhyun mumbled, tapping a finger against his lips before looking up at Chanyeol. “Did I… Ah, crap, this sounds so silly, but did I inspire you…?”

 Chanyeol shrugged and smiled softly.

 “Most probably. I don’t normally get inspired by people, but since I managed to come up with basically a whole song with you sitting next to me, I’m willing to bet that yes, you did inspire me. Like a muse.”

 Baekhyun’s face broke out into an innocently charming grin, the stars in his eyes shining even brighter as he breathed out a soft ‘wow’, and Chanyeol was completely and utterly smitten.

 “I’ve never been anyone’s muse before,” Baekhyun said, marvel in the lines of his face. “Pretty cool stuff…”

 “I’m sure you’ve must have been someone’s muse, but maybe you just don’t know it,” Chanyeol said, letting his fingers run over the strings to recreate some of the notes in his new song. _Baekhyun’s_ song. “You’re way too hot not to have been.”

 “Excuse you, are you telling me that only my body inspires you?” Baekhyun asked, not even bothering with holding his rectangular smile back.

 “It was the stars in your eyes, actually,” Chanyeol mumbled, kind of both hoping Baekhyun had heard, and that he had not heard.

 Obviously it was the latter, as Baekhyun cooed and chuckled, crawling closer to Chanyeol.

 “You’re making me feel all fluffy inside, so I think you should put that guitar away for now,” Baekhyun murmured, and Chanyeol silently obeyed, his throat having dried out from the darkness of Baekhyun’s eyes.

 The stars were still there, though, never leaving, just turning brighter yet against the midnight of Baekhyun's eyes. Pulling Chanyeol deeper beneath the surface and stealing his heart away, piece by piece.

 

 “Ah, shit, I need to get going,” Baekhyun muttered as he looked at his phone, hiding a jawn behind a hand.

 “You can sleep here if you want to,” Chanyeol offered, stretching a bit and turning over on his stomach so he could watch Baekhyun better.

 “Thanks, babe, but I’ll have to pass that,” Baekhyun said, smiling softly in a kind of strange way. “Need some stuff from my place for work tomorrow, and… Sleeping over seems a bit of a stretch of the ‘no defining of relationship’, doesn’t it?”

 The words should probably not have stung as bad as they did, but Chanyeol forced himself to not show anything on his face as he shrugged, hiding a bit behind his upper arms.

 “I mean, doesn’t have to mean anything, just an acquaintance offering his acquaintance a place to sleep so the acquaintance doesn’t have to drive home feeling sleepy,” Chanyeol said, frowning a bit. “That was a lot of acquaintances…”

 Baekhyun chuckled a bit, biting down on his lower lip, eyes filled with contemplation as he watched Chanyeol. It made Chanyeol feel a bit fidgety, but before he was able to drop his gaze, Baekhyun seemed to have made up his mind about something.

 “Well, I mean, we’re friends, right? We’re on first name basis, and you came up with a song for me?” Baekhyun said, hesitancy clear in the tone of his voice. As if he was leaving this up to Chanyeol, and if Chanyeol did not read it all completely wrong, it felt a bit as if Baekhyun was half hoping Chanyeol would deny it.

 As if. Chanyeol would grab whatever he could get with both hands.

 “We’re on first name basis because I don’t know your last name,” Chanyeol teased, getting up on his elbows. “But yeah, friends. We’re friends.”

 Baekhyun smiled at that, and there was a hint of worry in the smile, but mostly there was just happiness.

 “You never asked for my last name,” Baekhyun answered off-handedly, before getting out of the bed and looking around. “Could you help me look for my clothes?”

 “If I say no, does that mean you’ll spend the night?” Chanyeol challenged, his heart beating a bit faster at the risk he was taking, but Baekhyun just snorted at him.

 “You wish, but no, I’ll just kidnap a hoodie from you. Like your ‘Sexual Fantasies’ one,” Baekhyun threatened with a grin. “I like it, fits you well, but I think it fits me better…”

 Chanyeol gasped and sat up in his bed, wrapping the cover around his lower body.

 “That hoodie is sacred, there will be no kidnapping of it!” Chanyeol exclaimed, before helping Baekhyun find his clothes.

 Unfortunately, they could not find Baekhyun’s socks anywhere, and in the end, Chanyeol forced Baekhyun to borrow a pair of his.

 “Seriously, Baekhyun, it’s horrible to walk in shoes without socks on,” Chanyeol said, giving a fake shudder. “And it’s not like I don’t have a hundred other pairs of black socks! Well, not literally hundreds, but yeah…”

 “Okay, okay,” Baekhyun huffed, rolling his eyes as he accepted the socks and put them on. “See, I’m taking them, and yes, I’m acknowledging that you have a point. And also, I need to run. We should do this again!”

 Chanyeol crossed his arms over his chest, leaning against the wall in his hallway as he watched Baekhyun put on his shoes.

 “Dinner or sex?” Chanyeol asked, amused smile on his lips.

 Baekhyun sent him a look, wiggling his eyebrows.

 “How about both?” he suggested, voice purposefully lowered, and Chanyeol gave a small chuckle.

 “I don’t mind either,” Chanyeol said as Baekhyun got up, ready to go.

 He looked over at Chanyeol, that thoughtful look back in his eyes, and a second later, Chanyeol found himself being pulled down and a pair of lips planted firmly on top of his own.

 “Me neither,” Baekhyun breathed, smirking as he pulled back enough to be able to speak, but not completely breaking their touch. “ _Not at all_ … Talk to you later.”

 And with that, like a whirlwind, Baekhyun was out of the door and gone, leaving a flustered mess behind.

 It took Chanyeol a few minutes to gather himself, but when he did, he gave a low chuckle, rubbing his eyes with a hand before dragging it up and through his hair.

 He was falling for Baekhyun, there was no question about it. None whatsoever.

 Sighing, Chanyeol turned around and headed towards his small studio. He needed to get a song out of his head before he would be able to fall asleep. Damn those starry eyes...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woho, another chapter! This is being written fast, because I really am in love with this story. Seriously. And the characters. And everything! Unless I get really swamped with school work (which I probably won't) I reckon I can get at least two to three more chapters out over the next week, maybe even more! Cross those fingers, peeps!  
> And yes, Chanyeol is being lied to in the beginning - Baekhyun is not exercising. Nope, he's on a mission, kicking evil dudes' butts! Because he's awesome like that, but can't really tell Chanyeol, with the secret stuff and that...


	3. Chapter III

 Over the next couple of weeks, Baekhyun became more or less a constant in Chanyeol’s life. Sometimes, they barely had any contact for a few weeks, and sometimes, they met up several days in a row. Chanyeol found out that Baekhyun had a job that required a lot of traveling, though the shorter was rather mum about it all, saying that he would rather talk about other things than work when with Chanyeol. He had no problems listening to Chanyeol complain about his work, though, a small, fond smile on his lips as Chanyeol droned on about something.

 And as they began to get to know each other intimately on the inside, they were already far ahead on that on the outside. Chanyeol had mapped out each and every single mole on Baekhyun’s body, enjoying taking his time to kiss them all whenever they were going for slow and sensuous instead of hard and fast.

 He had also managed to find several scars, each seemingly holding a dangerous story.

 “They’re from when I was in the army,” Baekhyun had said when Chanyeol asked, shrugging a little. “Not anything special, really, I’ve been to a few dangerous places, but that was long ago.”

 Chanyeol did not push the subject any more, even though he recognized that some of the scars seemed too fresh to be from when Baekhyun had been in the army, and that some of them did not look like something you would get in a normal battle field. He did not feel like he had the right to ask about it, especially not if Baekhyun was unwilling to share his secrets. But they were always there, the questions, at the back of his mind.

 Another question hiding at the back of Chanyeol’s mind was the question of what they were. He had been the one to suggest that they did not need to specify whatever they were, or whatever relationship they had, because Baekhyun had seemed so opposed to it, but at the same time he could not help but wonder. Chanyeol had yet to be over at Baekhyun’s place, but Baekhyun spent a lot of time at Chanyeol’s place, even having eased up on the ‘no sleep-over’ rule.

 It made Chanyeol wonder, and question things. And it made him feel a bit uncertain and hesitant, though he tried to not show this whenever Baekhyun barreled back into his life, wearing his charming grin and offering food or himself, or both.

 Because Chanyeol knew where he himself stood. He knew he was falling for Baekhyun with each and every loud laugh, and every twinkle of those starry eyes. Falling hard, actually, as Baekhyun seemed to be perfect for him.

 Nearly perfect, at least.

 Eight weeks after Baekhyun’s first visit to Chanyeol’s apartment, Chanyeol finally finished the song. _Baekhyun’s song_. He had spent a lot of late nights with it, even some of the nights when Baekhyun had chosen to stay over, and finally his work had paid off. The song was finished, a soft ballad, and Chanyeol had even added lyrics to it, sung by himself. He was not the most confident singer, but he had to admit that his voice seemed to suit the song pretty well. After he had gotten over the awkwardness of hearing himself recorded, of course. He had never quite managed to get used to it…

 After having finished the song, Chanyeol had transferred it to an USB stick, carrying it around with him to work and out and about. He felt like he needed to keep it close, for some reason, and so he did. Plus, he was also waiting for the right moment to give it to Baekhyun, though this scared him so much he would break out into a cold sweat just at the thought of it.

 Another week went past, the communications from Baekhyun on the low, and Chanyeol began to wonder if it really was such a good idea to give the stick to the elusive man. What if Baekhyun did not like it? What if Baekhyun saw it as something more, something deeper, and decided to cut all ties? The what ifs cluttered Chanyeol’s mind, until he felt like he was about to go insane.

 Then Chanyeol received a call, as he was sitting in his sofa and staring up into his ceiling. His phone began to vibrate on the table in front of him, and frowning, Chanyeol looked down at it. Baekhyun’s name was written across the screen, and Chanyeol quickly picked it up.

 “Hello?” he breathed into the phone, heart beating a bit wildly. It had been quite a lot of days since he had heard Baekhyun’s husky voice, and he had missed it.

 “Hey,” Baekhyun answered back, sounding strangely… Down.

 Chanyeol was not used to down Baekhyun. Baekhyun normally had a pretty positive outlook on life, and even though he turned soberly serious sometimes, it was still in a soft way. Not in the sad kind of way. Not since… Not since they had decided to not label their relationship.

 “Hey, is something wrong?” Chanyeol asked, heart now beating fast for a completely different reason. Fear.

 “I don’t know, I just… Really needed to hear your voice, I guess,” Baekhyun sighed over the line, making Chanyeol’s throat constrict. “I actually really feel like getting a hug, can I come over?”

 Chanyeol had to clear his throat twice to get rid of the lump, a lump he was not sure why it had appeared.

 “Yeah, sure, of course, come on over,” Chanyeol said, getting up to start clean his apartment up a little bit. “I was just about to start cooking, if you’re hungry?”

 “Sounds great,” Baekhyun said, and Chanyeol began to breathe a bit easier as he heard the small smile in the other’s voice. “See you soon.”

 In the end, it only took Baekhyun about twenty minutes to arrive, though he normally took longer than that, and Chanyeol absently wondered if he had been driving around or something when they had talked.

 When the doorbell rang, Chanyeol quickly made sure that the food was doing its own thing, before hurrying over to the door and pulling it open. Baekhyun was standing on the other side, dressed in a damp suit, and looking a bit like a drenched puppy, droopy eyes a bit sad.

 Before Chanyeol had managed to get a single word out, Baekhyun had stepped forwards and buried his face against Chanyeol’s chest. Smiling softly, Chanyeol had wrapped his arms around Baekhyun and just held him close, somehow managing to shut the door as well.

 “Just give me a moment,” Baekhyun muttered against Chanyeol’s shirt, hands coming up to Chanyeol’s hips, and Chanyeol had nodded with his cheek on top of Baekhyun’s head.

 “Take all the time you need, I’m not going anywhere,” Chanyeol mumbled back, the fingers on his hips tightening a bit, and he knew it was from appreciation.

 They stood like that for a couple of minutes, before Baekhyun took a deep breath and pulled back, looking around. His eyes looked more tired than sad now, to Chanyeol’s relief.

 “It’s smelling really good,” Baekhyun said, looking up at Chanyeol who smiled once more.

 “Thank you. Go borrow some of my clothes, and it’ll be done by the time you come back,” Chanyeol said, gently pushing Baekhyun in the direction of his bedroom.

 It was not that unusual for Baekhyun to borrow Chanyeol’s clothes, as Chanyeol had realized that it was a hazard to his heart to have Baekhyun waltzing around naked in his apartment, as well as the fact that sometimes articles of clothing disappeared after having been roughly discarded. Once Baekhyun’s underwear had even been ripped apart during a particularly intense session, though he had opted for going commando when leaving Chanyeol’s apartment. Chanyeol still had very hot fantasies and dreams about that.

 But Baekhyun was a bit against changing from his own wet to Chanyeol’s dry clothes, much rather going for sex and then spending the rest of the time naked in Chanyeol’s bed. Chanyeol suspected it had something to do with his fear of definition, but had chosen not to ask. Like with so many other things.

 So when Baekhyun actually complied without protesting, heading into Chanyeol’s bedroom, Chanyeol felt both surprised and slightly worried. What had happened, really?

 But instead of running in circles in his own mind as he tried to answer unanswerable questions, Chanyeol headed into the kitchen and finished the food. He was putting down plates as Baekhyun came shuffling into the kitchen, looking more like young college student than an almost thirty-year-old man in one of Chanyeol’s oversized hoodies and a pair of too-long sweatpants, his hair ruffled in all directions.

 “You stole my sacred hoodie?” Chanyeol asked, smiling a bit at the text across Baekhyun’s chest.

 Because even though Baekhyun was the star of Chanyeol’s sexual fantasies, he did not look a lot like it right now, pouting slightly as he sat down in one of the chairs.

 “It’s comfortable and smells like you,” Baekhyun mumbled, making Chanyeol’s heart ache a little bit. “And extremely big.”

 “Or you’re just small,” Chanyeol said, trying to lighten the mood a bit as he put the food on the table. “Help yourself.”

 “I’m not small, you’re a giant with an affection for overly large clothes that look even larger on me,” Baekhyun said, rolling his eyes, but a little bit of his pout disappeared, and that was everything Chanyeol needed.

 “At least you look cute,” Chanyeol said, putting his chin in his hand as he watched Baekhyun take some of the food.

 “Totally going for the cute look, mhm,” Baekhyun said, but now a small smile had appeared on his lips. “That’s why I chose _Sexual Fantasies_ , yepp!”

 “Yeah, it’s not really matching up, you know,” Chanyeol chuckled, grinning larger as Baekhyun reached out and punched his shoulder. “Ouch, what was that for?”

 “I’m sexy,” Baekhyun mumbled, still smiling a little bit.

 “Trust me, I know,” Chanyeol sighed, drawing a snort out of Baekhyun, “but right now you look adorable, not sexy.”

 “Shut up,” Baekhyun said, his smile having grown even larger as he lifted his chopsticks to his mouth. And Chanyeol felt no need to continue the discussion, instead smiling as he finished taking food and starting to eat as well.

 They spent most of the dinner eating silently, but it was a comfortable silent. It seemed as if Baekhyun began to relax a bit more the more food he got into himself, and Chanyeol silently smiled over it. He still felt a bit bothered and curious about Baekhyun’s bad mood, but unless the other mentioned it, Chanyeol would not.

 “What’s that?” Baekhyun asked towards the end of the meal, using his chopsticks to point towards something further down the table.

 Looking up, Chanyeol choked a bit on the food he had been on the way of swallowing, Baekhyun quickly reaching out to help him as he began to cough.

 “Uh, an USB stick,” Chanyeol said, voice a bit rough, when he finally managed to get the coughing under control.

 “Obviously,” Baekhyun said with a small smile, leaning back and taking a sip from his water. “I meant what’s on it?”

 Reaching out, Chanyeol picked the small black thing up and looked down at it, making a decision. After all, maybe this was the right moment?

 “It’s… It’s actually for you,” Chanyeol mumbled, holding the stick out for Baekhyun.

 Baekhyun stared at for a little while, frowning, before reaching out and taking it. He turned it over, as if trying to find out what was on the little device, before confusedly looking up at Chanyeol again.

 “For me? What is it?” Baekhyun asked, and Chanyeol gathered all the (non-)existent courage he had.

 “Are you done? Come with me,” he said, very much not answering the question and instead getting up from the chair and walking towards his living room. He heard Baekhyun’s chair move as well, but did not dare look behind him.

 In the living room, Chanyeol took out his laptop and set it down on the coffee table, turning it on and then gestured towards the USB firmly held in Baekhyun’s hand.

 “Plug it in and double click it,” he said, scooting over a bit so that Baekhyun could sit down in front of the laptop.

 Sending Chanyeol a confused look, Baekhyun did as told. When the USB stick was inserted, a window popped up and showed the single file currently on the USB.

 “For Baekhyun,” Baekhyun read, and Chanyeol cringed over the name, but there was no going back now. He just wished he had come up with a real name for the song - but the suggestions he had come up with had sounded too cheesy, like 'Angel', and 'Heaven'…

 Chanyeol refused to look up from his clasped hands in his lap, but he could still feel Baekhyun’s eyes on him. Then he heard the double tap on his laptop, and held his breath.

 It took a few seconds for the program to load the song, but then soft guitar notes began flowing through the speakers of the laptop. Chanyeol took a chance and glanced up at Baekhyun, but he had not needed to worry about Baekhyun catching his gaze.

 Baekhyun was sitting frozen, one hand still hovering over the keyboard. His eyes were wide open, lips slightly parted, and Chanyeol had no idea what the other was thinking.

 As the song continued, Chanyeol kept watching Baekhyun, and Baekhyun did not move an inch. Even after the song had ended, a few minutes of silence went past as Baekhyun kept staring at laptop - or maybe even past it, Chanyeol did not know.

 Then Baekhyun slowly turned his head to look at Chanyeol, and Chanyeol saw that his eyes were even more starry than normal.

 “This… Is this…?” Baekhyun breathed, voice so low Chanyeol barely heard it, even though they sat quite close together.

 Chanyeol felt the heat rise on his cheeks, and he looked down at his clasped hands once more, unable to look Baekhyun in the eye.

 “Your song? Yes, I managed to finish it…,” Chanyeol mumbled, smiling a little bit down at his own hands. “Did you… Uhm, did you like it, I-I guess?”

 Hands placed themselves on Chanyeol’s cheeks, surprising him, but before that feeling managed to settle itself properly into his brain, his head had been turned and lips pressed against his.

 “I love it,” Baekhyun breathed against Chanyeol’s lips, and opening his eyes, Chanyeol realized that it was unshed tears that made Baekhyun’s eyes sparkle. “You made me a _song_.”

 “Yeah, of course, you inspired it,” Chanyeol said, the blush spreading to the tip of his ears, eyes going between Baekhyun’s twinkling eyes and Baekhyun’s twitching lips. It looked as if he could not decide if he wanted to smile or not.

 “Why are you so unbelievably adorable and lovable?” Baekhyun groaned, pulling Chanyeol closer for another kiss.

 After the kiss, Baekhyun released Chanyeol and clicked on the song again, to make it play, whilst Chanyeol sank back into the sofa, head spinning a little bit.

 “Uh, I’m sorry…?” Chanyeol mumbled, trying to keep up with what felt like an emotional whiplash.

 “And you’re singing as well?” Baekhyun said, glancing back at Chanyeol who gave a nod. “This is just… Wow. So beautiful…”

 And Chanyeol could not stop the large grin on his lips, the kind that made his eye kind of twitch and made him look a bit crazy, because he felt as if his heart was about to explode. And then he was pulled down again, having the daylight kissed out of him, but he was just so _happy_.

 Could this even get any better?

 “I’m breaking all the rules,” Baekhyun whispered, pulling back and locking gazes with Chanyeol, who once more was confused. “Date me?”

 All Chanyeol could do was blink down at Baekhyun, his mind no longer responding. But, they were not supposed to define their relationship? Baekhyun did not want that? Dating each other? Defining it?

 Baekhyun seemed to misread Chanyeol’s reaction, as he began to pull back a bit, uncertainty creeping into his eyes, and that was what finally woke Chanyeol up again.

 “ _Holy shit, yes!_ ” Chanyeol exclaimed, so loud both Baekhyun and he himself jumped a little bit. “I mean, yes, I’d like that very much?”

 Suddenly, Baekhyun was in Chanyeol’s lap, all rectangular smile and starry eyes, and Chanyeol wrapped his arm around the shorter, mentally promising to never let him go. He had caught himself a star, and he was never letting this star go.

 Not for anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I accidentally ended up writing this, lol, and thought, why not post it? So, yeah, here we go, yet another chapter of MHiaSA :') honestly, I might finish this entire story this week even, I wouldn't be surprised...  
> And yes, I know it's sappy and soft and cheesy, but don't worry, there will soon be angst :') it's just that whenever Chanyeol is involved, it goes soft, because he's a soft giant, and it's all Chanyeol's fault!


	4. Chapter IV

 Life with Baekhyun as a boyfriend was… Strange, Chanyeol had to admit.

 They kept their own places, which Chanyeol was completely fine with. He liked his apartment a lot, and it was close to his office, so it was basically perfect for him, and since he had yet to be invited over to Baekhyun’s, it was also a safety. Baekhyun moved some clothing over to Chanyeol’s so that he could sleep over, and got a toothbrush, but not that much changed in other ways. He became a bit more easily accessible, but there were still moments when he did not keep in contact for several days.

 And there were days when Baekhyun came to Chanyeol’s, tired and haggard-looking, when all he did was lie in Chanyeol’s arms and breathe the other in. He moved with a sort of aching carefulness, and Chanyeol had spotted bruises. Chanyeol had no idea what it meant, where they came from, and honestly, he was afraid to ask. Was Baekhyun involved with someone else? Did Baekhyun live with an abusive family? Was Baekhyun part of the mafia? Like a hitman or something? So many questions, and so many possibilities for an answer Chanyeol did not know how to take.

 So for a while, Chanyeol kept quiet, just as he had done before. He did not ask his questions, he was just there for Baekhyun in whatever form he needed. Chanyeol kept everything locked up and away in his mind, gathering and collecting, until it all almost became too much.

 And then, one day, Baekhyun came to visit. And as things were getting a bit heated, Chanyeol kissing his way down Baekhyun’s body and loving each and every mole and scar, he found a new scar. It had been some time since they had last slept together, and the scar was just slightly pink, but Chanyeol knew that it was new.

 Chanyeol had sat up, letting his thumb run over the scar, keeping his eyes on it, as everything boiled over and started to leak out.

 “What is this?” he whispered, glancing up at Baekhyun’s face and not missing the look of dread passing by in those sparkling eyes.

 “Nothing,” Baekhyun said, clearing his throat and getting up from the bed, fetching his shirt from the floor and pulling it on.

 Chanyeol stayed on his knees in the bed, watching Baekhyun walk away, acting so guiltily, and he could not take it.

 “Baekhyun. Stop,” Chanyeol said, hurrying out of the bed and taking a grip of Baekhyun’s wrist to keep him in place. “From where did you get that scar? And all the other scars? Don’t try with the army bullshit.”

 “Leave it alone,” Baekhyun muttered, easily wrenching his arm from Chanyeol’s hand, and Chanyeol was surprised by the strength he used. He knew Baekhyun was strong, but not _this_ strong.

 “Leave it alone? I can’t leave it alone,” Chanyeol said with a humorless laugh. “We’re _dating_ , and I keep seeing bruises, and now this scar, how can I possibly leave it alone? Are you involved with someone who abuses you? Is it your family?”

 Baekhyun frowned, looking up at Chanyeol with confusion - and it seemed real enough to Chanyeol.

 “What? No! No, I’m not being abused by someone!” Baekhyun exclaimed, before he sighed and rubbed his forehead. “It has nothing to with anything like that, and it’s not something illegal either, which is probably your next thought…”

 Chanyeol gave a sheepish half-shrug, since that had been exactly what he had thought.

 “Maybe this is… Maybe I shouldn’t have let things get to this point,” Baekhyun mumbled, more to himself than Chanyeol, but Chanyeol still heard, his heart stopping in his chest.

 “What? What are you saying?” Chanyeol asked, voice a bit choked by all the feelings suddenly battling inside of him. Fear, rage, sorrow, pain - like a whirlwind making him dizzy.

 Was this it?

 “This, between us, it should never have happened,” Baekhyun said, exhaustion clear in his voice and the lines of his face. “I… I’m sorry, Yeol, I really like you a lot, but like I said, I’m breaking rules, and I can’t do this anymore. It’s too dangerous…”

 Through Chanyeol’s rebelling mind, he could only grasp onto one word from all the painful ones Baekhyun had said, and he clung to it, trying to find the meaning.

 “What, too dangerous? Why, are you a spy or something?” Chanyeol snorted, pain making him more brisk and coarse than he intended. But his sarcastic smirk fell quickly as Baekhyun’s eyes darted away from him and around the room, and the shorter began to fidget with his shirt uncomfortably. Chanyeol might not have known Baekhyun for _that_ long, but he knew him enough to recognize the small signs telling him that something was off. “Wait, really?! You’re a spy?!”

 Baekhyun’s eyes widened, filled with panic, and he began to shake his head vigorously. “Oh, no, what, of course not! That’s ridiculous, me, a spy?”

 But Chanyeol was not listening anymore, too deep into his own thoughts.

 “Oh my god, it all makes sense… The disappearances, the avoidance of questions, the secrecy, the unexplained cuts and scrapes and bruises…,” Chanyeol mumbled to himself, and even as Baekhyun tried to get a word in Chanyeol just kept ignoring him. “I can’t believe I’ve been dating a spy… How cool is not that, oh my god!”

 Whilst Chanyeol was squealing over the coolness of his boyfriend, said boyfriend stood with his face in his hand, shaking his head slowly and muttering curses. Noticing Baekhyun’s distress, Chanyeol chuckled and pulled him close.

 “Ha, I managed to figure your little secret out!” Chanyeol smugly cooed, rocking back and forth with Baekhyun in his arms. “I’m so good!”

 But Baekhyun was not entertained, instead pushing himself out of Chanyeol’s embrace, lips set in a thin line.

 “You don’t understand, it doesn’t change anything,” he said in a cold voice, making Chanyeol snap out of his celebrations of the excellence of his own mind. “We still can’t be together, you’re a liability I can’t afford to have! I’m not going to put you in danger by keeping you close! This has gone on for too long, and I’m sorry I wasn’t strong enough to stop it, but I’m putting a stop to it now.”

 Chanyeol was silent for a moment at that, realization finally dawning on him. Because it was true, what Baekhyun was saying. Being a spy was a dangerous occupation, and one wrong move, and everyone Baekhyun loved might be at stake. Chanyeol understood.

 But that did not mean that he would lie down and admit defeat.

 “What if I take precautions? Learn self defense? We can move around every few years to make sure no one gets to know us too well,” Chanyeol suggested in a soft voice, taking a step towards Baekhyun and cupped his cheek with his hand. “I don’t know exactly what kind of stuff your work entails, but you could show me how to take proper precautions, and we’ll get advanced security systems…”

 “Advanced security systems can’t protect you against someone already inside of the house!” Baekhyun protested, turning his head so that Chanyeol’s hand fell away, to his shoulder instead. “What are you going to do when the alarm goes off and you find yourself face to face with a professional hitman?”

 “Uhm, punch them in the face…?” Chanyeol said a bit vaguely. “How often do you get hitmen sent after you?”

 “That’s beside the point,” Baekhyun sighed, dragging a hand through his hair. “The point is that this is dangerous, being with me is dangerous, and I don’t want to risk you.”

 “What if I’m willing to risk myself?” Chanyeol asked, fingers digging a bit into Baekhyun’s shoulder, but the shorter did not even flinch. “Why do I have no say in this? And don’t start with the dangerous stuff, I realize it’s dangerous, and I’ll take whatever precautions necessary, but I don’t want to lose you. I have barely any contact with my family, the only friend I still talk to is Sehun, and then the rest are shallow acquaintances. I love you, so it’s not really a hard sacrifice to make.”

 They both realized what Chanyeol had said at the same time, Baekhyun’s eyes growing large as Chanyeol took a shocked step backwards, hands flying up to cover his mouth.

 “Wh-what did you say?” Baekhyun asked in a voice that was barely above a whisper, and Chanyeol did not know how to read his reaction. On the other hand, Chanyeol was having his hands full with his own reaction anyway.

 “I, uh, I said I love you…?” Chanyeol answered, but it sounded more like a question. “Uhm, oops…?”

 “What do you mean ‘oops’?” Baekhyun continued, his voice having regained a bit more strength, and he sounded a bit agitated.

 Chanyeol quickly held up his hands and shook his head, cursing under his breath.

 “Shit, no, I didn’t mean it like that! I don’t regret saying it, it’s true, but I didn’t mean to blurt it out like that!” Chanyeol explained, words tripping over themselves out of his mouth. His cheeks and the tip of his ears were burning. “I meant every word, I _do_ love you, but I was going to say it in a more romantic way, I was waiting for the right moment, but then you came here and we were going to have sex, and then everything went down, and you were breaking up with me, and then the spy stuff-”

 Baekhyun took a quick step forwards, pressing his hand against Chanyeol’s mouth to silence him.

 “Breathe, Chanyeol, breathe,” he said, and Chanyeol recognized the amused glint in Baekhyun’s eyes, and the barely-there curve of his lips. “Slow down. Now say it again.”

 When Baekhyun removed his hand, Chanyeol took a deep breath and cupped Baekhyun’s face with his hands, leaning down as close as he could without having Baekhyun turn into a cyclops.

 “Byun Baekhyun, no matter if you’re a spy or into strange shit involving getting hit, I love you,” Chanyeol breathed, smiling a bit as Baekhyun rolled his eyes. “I love you, and I don’t mind it in the least to give my life up for you. I would do _anything_ for you.”

 “Marry me,” Baekhyun blurted out, and Chanyeol choked on his breath.

 “Wh-what?” Chanyeol exclaimed, dumbfounded but still not missing how pretty the slight blush on Baekhyun’s cheeks were. It was not often that Baekhyun blushed, and Chanyeol treasured each and every moment.

 “Might be a bit sudden, but I love you too, and I'm pretty sure I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and you know my secret and might die because of it, so…,” Baekhyun explained, before trailing off and looking very uncertain. “So, uhm, marry me?”

 Chanyeol stood perfectly still, the words echoing through his mind. Then he tilted his head and shrugged.

 “Why not? I mean, I feel the same, so why not?”

 Baekhyun gave a small gasp before breaking out into a beaming smile, pulling Chanyeol down into a scorching kiss.

 “Wait, would you have had to kill me if I’d wanted to break this off after learning about you being a spy?” Chanyeol asked, pulling back from the kiss. Baekhyun rolled his eyes, before resuming the kissing, but it did not take long before it was interrupted once more. “Shit, wait, do you have a license to kill?”

 “Shut up, Chanyeol.”

 

~*~

 

 The wedding was no big affair - just Chanyeol and Baekhyun in the sunset on a beautiful beach, both dressed in white linen shirts and pants. There was an official, as well as two witnesses, of which one was Sehun and the other a friend of Baekhyun’s. Chanyeol later found out that the man - Kim Jongdae - was a fellow agent of Baekhyun’s, and the only person Baekhyun dared talk to about everything.

 Which Chanyeol did not understand, considering how loud Jongdae was, giving a screeching laugh as Baekhyun tried to shut him up from telling an embarrassing memory, but he was oddly charming.

 Sehun spent most of the night congratulating himself on bringing the newlyweds together, until Baekhyun smirked and thanked him for the hotel room, which had been “put to great use”. Remembering that first night, Chanyeol had flushed a deep red, which apparently amused Sehun and Jongdae to no ends, as they kept begging Baekhyun to give them the dirty details. Baekhyun only grinned and shook his head, with a firm grip on Chanyeol’s hand as the taller tried to recover.

 “You know, I still have the fangs at home, guess what the first thing into our new home will be?” Baekhyun at one point murmured into Chanyeol’s ear, making him choke on his wine.

 After that, it quite quickly spiraled into debauchery, and when Baekhyun was on his way to climb into Chanyeol’s lap, Jongdae decided that it was time to stop the party, sending them all back to their respective rooms.

 Baekhyun had started to tell Chanyeol the stories behind his scars, wanting to open up more, but tonight, there was no time for words. Declarations of love were spelled out by fumbling fingers across skin, and in the way mouths painted markings in reds and blues. And it was not until the sun started to peek into the room that they finally gave in to exhaustion, falling asleep wrapped around each other, like the rings wrapped around their fingers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the secret is finally out! And a little more has been added to Chanyeol's backstory as well, if you caught that!  
> And am I the only one who can totally see that wedding clearly in her mind? Because that image just makes me so soft!


	5. Chapter V

 Soon after getting married, Chanyeol and Baekhyun moved together into a new house. They had gotten a cute little house on the outskirts of Seoul, so that Chanyeol could finish up the business he still had as they prepared for their new life.

 “It’s a neighborhood with mostly elders,” Baekhyun said, looking through the folder in his hands as Chanyeol drove the truck towards their new home. “A few families with younger children, but they’re rare. A few shops, a grocery store, all in all a pretty quiet place.”

 “Shouldn’t we move to a place that’s the opposite to that?” Chanyeol asked, glancing over at Baekhyun as he kept driving, following the GPS. “I mean, to make sure people don’t get to know us, remember us, that stuff?”

 Baekhyun looked up at Chanyeol with an amused grin.

 “You’d be surprised by how little people remember you if you keep seeming normal,” Baekhyun said, closing the folder and throwing it onto the dashboard. “It will be ‘Yes, they were such sweet boys, really nice!’, and that’s that. Not even the bad guys torture sweet old ladies to get information out of them.”

 “I knew that,” Chanyeol said, chuckling awkwardly, and he knew Baekhyun did not believe him.

 “Whoever might come after me wouldn’t torture sweet old ladies, Yeol,” Baekhyun snickered, patting Chanyeol’s thigh. “That’s something deranged maniacs would do, and I don’t deal with them. That’s a whole other government branch, you know.”

 “Well, that’s good to know,” Chanyeol mumbled, adjusting his grip on the steering wheel. “Oh, we’re here. Wow, this looks pretty good!”

 The house was a single-floor building, light blue, with a small garden and a small garage. It looked quite idyllic to Chanyeol, with the white picketed fence, and he found himself not minding it at all as their first house.

 “Yepp, with an advanced security system paid for with tax money,” Baekhyun muttered, taking the folder and sighing as he got out of the car. “Let’s go inside and see how it looks, and then we can start carrying in the boxes?”

 The inside was more spacious than one could believe from the outside, with a large living room opening up into the dining room, a kitchen attached to it, a large bathroom, and a large bedroom. It was all they needed, after all, and Chanyeol liked it.

 “I have to say, the department did good this time,” Baekhyun said as he dropped the folder on the kitchen bench, walking around and looking through the house. “They must have wanted to impress you.”

 “Uhm, why would they want to impress me?” Chanyeol asked, standing in the middle of the living room and looking around. “I’m not the one who works for them.”

 Baekhyun joined Chanyeol in the living room, still looking around the place.

 “I’m sure that could be arranged, though, if you’d like,” Baekhyun said. “Let’s get the stuff inside, I want to be able to sleep in a proper bed tonight!”

 “You- But- Wh-what?” Chanyeol stammered as he followed Baekhyun outside. “What do you mean-”

 Just before they reached the door, Baekhyun spun around, placing a finger over Chanyeol’s lips.

 “We can talk about it later, no work talk for now,” Baekhyun said, smiling a little bit. “Also, you shouldn’t talk too much about government stuff when outside, it has a tendency to attract attention.”

 Chanyeol gave a quick kitten lick to Baekhyun’s finger before nodding, grinning mischievously as Baekhyun raised his eyebrows.

 “Moving stuff first, then we’re consecrating this place,” Baekhyun mumbled, turning around and heading out the door, leaving Chanyeol with a blush spreading across his cheeks.

 About halfway through their moving of boxes and furniture, they ran into one of their new neighbors.

 “So you are the new owners? Very nice to meet you, such handsome young men!” the older lady said as Chanyeol and Baekhyun bowed and introduced themselves. “And so polite, yes, the world has yet not fallen completely into damnation!”

 Chanyeol excused himself and went back to the truck to unload some more, whilst Baekhyun stayed and continued to talk to the lady. Since they were standing close to the truck, Chanyeol could hear every word being said, as well as catch glimpses of them.

 “The house prices are getting really high, aren’t they? But it is so nice to see friends move together, to get out of the nest so to speak and begin their adult lives even in this economy!” the lady said, smiling in that warm grandma-way. “How are you going to do with the splitting of the house, though? It is a one bedroom layout, right? And you are young, fertile men, you are probably bringing home girls every night, but you have to respect each other! I’m sure you don’t want to hear everything that goes on through the thin walls!”

 Chanyeol pursed his lips a little bit over the fact that she believed they were just friends - god forbid if they moved in together because they were _romantically involved_! - but when he heard Baekhyun chuckle politely, he knew shit was about to go down. Putting down the box in his hands, Chanyeol sneaked over to the edge of the truck and peeked around it.

 “Oh, there’s no need to worry about that, we’re married,” Baekhyun said, smiling softly and holding his left hand up to show off the ring on it.

 The lady gave a scandalized gasp, putting a hand over her chest and taking a step back. She looked up to see Chanyeol, and he gave a wave, smiling uncomfortably, before she hurried towards her own house, muttering something Chanyeol probably would not like to hear under her breath.

 Turning around, Baekhyun walked over to Chanyeol and the truck, rolling his eyes at the reaction he had gotten.

 “We happen to live in the twenty first century, where being gay is not a disease,” Baekhyun snorted, picking up the box Chanyeol had put down.

 “Wow, that was very inconspicuous,” Chanyeol drily noted, earning himself a raised eyebrow.

 “Shut your mouth, Park, or I’ll bring out the fangs,” Baekhyun said, lifting the box in his hands a little bit. “Quite literally, they’re in this box.”

 Hissing softly, Chanyeol swatted in Baekhyun’s direction, ignoring the heat creeping onto his cheeks and the tips of his ears. Laughing loudly, Baekhyun jumped out of Chanyeol’s reach, before heading towards the house.

 

 Once they had gotten everything inside, it was already quite late, and they agreed on ordering takeout that night. After managing to put the newly purchased bed and the newly purchased sofa together, they collapsed into the latter with deep sighs.

 “Remind me not to move ever again,” Baekhyun groaned. “Both out of this sofa, and out of this house…”

 “We’re moving again in a few years,” Chanyeol mumbled, letting his eyes close.

 “Ah, shit, you’re right… Well, remind me to drag Jongdae into helping then,” Baekhyun muttered, and Chanyeol gave a small grin.

 “I will, that sounds like a great plan.”

 After that, they fell into silence, just relaxing after the tiring day. But after a few minutes, the silence changed, and Chanyeol forced his eyes open to look over at Baekhyun, who seemed deep in thought.

 “What?” Chanyeol asked, nudging Baekhyun’s thigh with his hand.

 Baekhyun glanced over at Chanyeol, shrugging, but there was more to it, and Chanyeol simply waited. It did not take long before Baekhyun opened his mouth to speak.

 “I just… I was wondering if this was such a great idea,” Baekhyun muttered, and Chanyeol rolled his eyes and sat up as he knew where this was going. “I mean, don’t you want to have kids?”

 “Baekhyun, I’m gay,” Chanyeol snickered, pulling Baekhyun down and beneath him. “I’ve never really thought about having kids, and even less so after realizing they were not a biological possibility from the relationships I would have. Stop overthinking this and just let me love you, just like I want to.”

 Baekhyun gave a small pout, and Chanyeol loved when he did; when Baekhyun showed that he was more than the crazily sexy and very competent secret agent.

 “I was just asking…,” Baekhyun mumbled, before sighing and spreading his arms. “But yeah, I get your point. Do what you want to me, Park Chanyeol, and I will try to give up my insecurities and fears for your life!”

 Chanyeol laughed softly as he buried his face against Baekhyun’s neck and inhaled his distinct scent. Like lavender detergent and mint, because of his addiction to mint chewing gum that Chanyeol had started with as well.

 “Thank you, but I’m not sure if I’m feeling like it. I keep imagining that old lady hearing us, and crossing herself…”

 “Ugh, why are you thinking about her when you have me beneath you?” Baekhyun exclaimed in disgust, a laughter beneath it. “I need some food before I help exorcise her out of your head, though, let me borrow your phone?”

 Chanyeol hummed in allowance, and Baekhyun slowly pulled the phone out of the taller’s back pocket, making sure to grope him as much as possible and making Chanyeol squirm. Baekhyun was still laughing as he managed to find a seemingly good restaurant close by and called in their orders.

 

 “Wait, you were serious when you said that tax money went into buying our security system?” Chanyeol asked as he watched Baekhyun put the leftovers away.

 “Yepp, of course I was. I mean, I work for the government, and they pay my salary, as well as the security system,” Baekhyun said, closing the door to the refrigerator and turning around to face Chanyeol. “Apparently they want their agents to have state of the art security, you know, since we deal with such dangerous things on a near daily basis.”

 “Oh, well that does seems kind of logical,” Chanyeol hummed, rubbing his chin. “And I am kind of grateful for it, but still, when you put it like ‘tax money paid this’, it makes me feel a bit uncomfortable, I guess…”

 Baekhyun gave a shrug before he pushed himself up from leaning, heading over to where Chanyeol was sitting and wrapping his arms around his neck.

 “Well, you can look at it like you helped pay for it, since you pay taxes as well,” Baekhyun murmured. “Still thinking about shocking the old lady with strange noises?”

 Chanyeol sputtered and pulled back a little, embarrassment and shock warm on his face.

 “No! I was thinking about _not_ wanting to shock her with the strange noises!” Chanyeol exclaimed, making Baekhyun laugh.

 “Oh, right, that’s how it was… There’s no way I can change your mind?” Baekhyun asked, his voice a sultry purr that made Chanyeol’s mind blank.

 “Uh… I mean…,” Chanyeol said, trying to form a coherent thought, giving up as Baekhyun’s grin widened. “Give it a try…?”

 “With _pleasure_ ,” Baekhyun mewled into Chanyeol’s ear, sending shivers down the taller’s spine.

 Within seconds, Chanyeol’s shirt was lying on the floor behind them, Baekhyun’s lips attached to Chanyeol’s throat. With a content sigh Chanyeol leaned back, elbows on the counter behind him, easily giving in to Baekhyun. Each kiss, lick and nibble had Chanyeol’s mind turning more and more into a mess, much like his physical state, and the thoughts of the scandalized lady next to them were soon shattered.

 Baekhyun had quickly worked his way down Chanyeol’s chest, and looking down at the man on his knees in front of him, Chanyeol realized a thing.

 “Hey, these chairs are at a great height,” Chanyeol rasped out, making Baekhyun look up at him, a small frown beginning to form.

 “You literally have me on my knees in front of you, about to suck you off, and you’re thinking about chairs?” Baekhyun said, rolling his eyes and chuckling. “Either I’m not doing as well as I thought I did, or you’re just a really silly man.”

 “Oh, you’re doin- _fuck_ ,” Chanyeol gasped, jaw going slack as Baekhyun’s fingers wrapped around him, his pants being pushed down. “Baek- _ah!_ ”

 And when lips joined the fingers, Chanyeol’s entire world stopped spinning, everything focusing on that delicious heat enveloping him, positively driving him crazy. In the back of his mind, the only sane part left wondered if Baekhyun was doing this on purpose, but most of Chanyeol did not care. Instead he slid down in the chair a little bit more, putting his shoulders and head on the counter, hands going out to try to find purchase on the wood beneath them.

 Baekhyun was merciless, making Chanyeol a panting and writhing mess in no time at all, drawing the loudest moan as of yet out of him when he finally came. Collapsing against the counter, Chanyeol gasped for air, entire body trembling, as Baekhyun swallowed the last drop and climbed into Chanyeol’s lap.

 “A good one, eh?” Baekhyun purred, leaning down to give Chanyeol several pecks even though Chanyeol was currently unable to close his mouth to kiss back.

 When Chanyeol was finally able to pull himself together, he gave Baekhyun’s butt a tired pat.

 “Great one, holy shit,” he whispered. “Your mouth’s so talented it should be signed…”

 “Funny, real funny,” Baekhyun snickered. “I was actually scouted to become an idol when I was younger, but it didn’t really fit in with what I wanted to do with my life. Have a decent voice, or so I’ve been told.”

 “Oh, you do,” Chanyeol said, giving a lopsided grin before noticing the darkness of Baekhyun’s eyes. “How’s it going, need some help?”

 “Feeling up for it, or should I give myself a hand?” Baekhyun asked, licking his lips.

 “And you say I make bad jokes,” Chanyeol snickered, pushing himself up and connecting their lips, then once more patting Baekhyun’s butt. “Up on the counter, baby.”

 “This is getting kinky,” Baekhyun smirked, doing as told as Chanyeol spun around in the chair.

 “Giving blowjobs in the kitchen with the blinds up? Oh, please, this is nothing,” Chanyeol snorted, but the slightly red tips of his ear still gave him away. “Hey, shit, the chairs are great height for this as well!”

 “Probably only for you, my giant,” Baekhyun mumbled, rolling his eyes as he leaned back on his hands, tilting his head a little bit. “Shouldn’t I have taken my pants off before hopping on top of here…?”

 Instead of answering, Chanyeol pushed Baekhyun’s shirt up, mouth latching on to lightly tanned skin stretched across muscles that contracted against Chanyeol’s lips. Chanyeol loved the veins that now disappeared beneath the waistband of Baekhyun’s jeans, and always made sure to give them a lot of attention.

 “Ah, _please_ , you’re _killing_ me,” Baekhyun gasped, one hand clutched in Chanyeol’s hair.

 Snickering against Baekhyun’s skin, Chanyeol began to unbutton the jeans, before instructing Baekhyun to lift his “pretty little butt” so that he could wiggle the pants down a little bit. What Chanyeol got to see made him gasp out loud.

 “Commando? Really? I thought you were going to tell me when you went commando!” Chanyeol complained.

 “Didn't want to distract you too much from moving, then I sort of forgot about it,” Baekhyun said with a shrug, but Chanyeol could see the grin he was trying to hold back.

 “It probably is good that you didn't tell me,” Chanyeol muttered, before leaning down and licking up the underside of Baekhyun’s length.

 With a shaky sigh, Baekhyun let his head fall back, hands clenching into fists on the counter. Chanyeol loved the reactions he managed to so easily coax out of the other - it more than enough made up for the reactions Baekhyun so easily could coax out of him.

 Determined to give Baekhyun one hell of a ride, Chanyeol pulled him closer by the hips and got to work. Chanyeol was not that well-versed in giving blowjobs, but he hoped his enthusiasm made up for it. Considering the strings of breathy curses that left Baekhyun’s lips, it seemed to be going well.

 “Chan _yeol_ ,” Baekhyun choked out at one point, shaky fingers threaded through Chanyeol’s hair as he was leaning forwards a bit, one foot propped up on Chanyeol’s thigh, and he could feel Baekhyun’s toes curl and digging into his flesh. “I- _shit!_ Y-you should st-stop now…”

 But Chanyeol ignored this as he kept going. With a deep groan and the smallest of thrusts upwards, Baekhyun came.

 Chanyeol had never swallowed before, but he knew more or less how he should do it. It was a bit scary though, the warm liquid suddenly flooding his mouth, but he managed to get through it.

 Relaxing back down, Baekhyun let his head hang back, trying to get control over his breathing. A soft chuckle left his lips as he dragged a hand over his face, then through his hair.

 “Whoa, that was… _Wow_ ,” Baekhyun murmured, looking back down at Chanyeol with a soft smile and even softer eyes. “You okay?”

 Chanyeol nodded as he licked his lips, frowning a bit.

 “Tastes strange, but not bad…?” Chanyeol answered.

 With another soft chuckle, Baekhyun cupped Chanyeol’s face with both his hands, pulling Chanyeol into a soft and languid kiss.

 “Ew, you just tasted your own cum,” Chanyeol said as they separated, wrinkling his nose a little.

 “You did as well,” Baekhyun murmured, smirking, and Chanyeol’s eyes widened as he realized that oh shit, he had.

 “That’s kinda nasty…,” Chanyeol commented, before stifling a yawn. “Let’s go to bed?”

 Baekhyun nodded as he scooted closer to the edge, doing his pants up again.

 “Sounds like a great plan, but we need to make it,” Baekhyun said, laughing as Chanyeol groaned and whined.

 

 The next day, as Chanyeol and Baekhyun were about to return the truck and get their own car back, the old lady next door also went outside, and they accidentally ended up meeting.

 Chanyeol and Baekhyun bowed and greeted the old lady, whose eyes grew round. Trembling, she also bowed, before quickly heading back inside, not doing whatever she had gone outside to do.

 “You think she heard us last night?” Baekhyun mumbled as the door was slammed closed.

 “I’d rather not think about it,” Chanyeol muttered, the blush spreading to the tip of his ears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah, I know this took some time, and I apologize for that... Got a bit stuck, re-wrote stuff, all that shebang (omg, hello Swedish nostalgia feelings!), and uhm, yeah... I'll be going away in two days as well, I'll be in France for a week (yay!), so next chapter might take some time as well... Unfortunately... Hope you enjoyed this one, though~!


	6. Chapter VI

 As per previously decided, Chanyeol took up self defense classes. With his newly earned freedom, he had the time to put into going to the gym even more, and therefore, began to gain more muscles.

 Something Baekhyun noticed, and seemed to approve off _a lot_.

 Baekhyun had also agreed to training Chanyeol when at home, beginning with some hapkido basics, since this was what Baekhyun had trained in since young. As Chanyeol’s skill progressed, it was not unusual for their sessions to end with a different kind of heat, clothes messily thrown on the floor around them.

 The first time Chanyeol managed to overpower Baekhyun and bring him down, both of them were so surprised that they just stopped to stare at each other.

 “Holy fuck, what?” Baekhyun mumbled, breathing a bit strained both by the exercise and the fact that Chanyeol was still holding him down.

 But Chanyeol broke out into a giddy grin, unable to stop the little giggle from slipping out.

 “I managed to bring you down!” Chanyeol almost shrieked, releasing Baekhyun and sitting up to throw his hands into the air. “It’s not impossible! The mighty Byun can be brought down!”

 Chuckling a bit, Baekhyun also sat up, leaning back on his arms.

 “‘The Mighty Byun’? I like that,” Baekhyun said, shaking his head. “But I’m actually not that mighty. Okay, yeah, I’m good, but far from the best.”

 “Even if you’re not the best, you’re still the best to me, so I see this as an accomplishment,” Chanyeol said earnestly as he crawled towards Baekhyun and settled down between his legs, hands on the agent’s thighs.

 With a loud-pitched coo, Baekhyun threw his arms around Chanyeol’s neck, pulling him forwards and down onto the floor.

 “You are so cute, I love you so much!” Baekhyun murmured, puncturing each word with a kiss to Chanyeol’s face and neck.

 Laughing, Chanyeol wriggled around in the hold, eyes screwed closed, an almost panicked sense of fluffy happiness filling him.

 How had this happen? Just what had he done in his previous life to deserve something like this? He must have saved a country or something, because no human should be able to have this much happiness and love.

  


 And maybe that was true. Maybe Chanyeol had exhausted his share of happiness during his short time with Baekhyun. Maybe it was all about to change.

  


 Chanyeol was missing Baekhyun. The shorter had left on a mission last week, and still not returned. Because of the sensitivity of the mission, there had been restricted contact, most of the time only enough for Baekhyun to tell Chanyeol that he was alive and fine, and of course that he loved him. Somehow, Baekhyun always found the time to make sure that Chanyeol knew that.

 Having dressed after having taken a shower to wash the sweat of his practice off, Chanyeol collapsed into the sofa with a deep sigh. Picking up his phone, he stared at it, noticing the lack of texts and calls, wishing for it give him _something_.

 As if having heard his prayers, the phone began to vibrate in his hold, and Chanyeol almost dropped it in shock. Quickly fumbling with it, he managed to answer the call, pressing it to his ear and breathing a questioning ‘hello’ into it.

  _“Yeollie?”_ came over the line, and Chanyeol harshly drew a breath in.

 “Baekhyun? What’s wrong?” Chanyeol demanded, his free hand curling into a fist.

  _“Ah, my Yeollie, it feels so good to hear your voice,”_ Baekhyun said, a breathless kind of chuckle in his voice, as well as something else. _“I’ve missed you so much…”_

 “I’ve missed you, too, Baek, but what’s going on? Is your mission over? When are you coming home?” Chanyeol asked, a lump growing in his throat and beginning to choke him.

 Something was wrong, so, so very wrong, and Chanyeol needed to know what it was.

  _“Yeah, ah, my mission is over… I don’t know when I’ll be home though,”_ Baekhyun said, giving another chuckle, voice sounding a bit disbelieving. _“I got shot. Shit went down, and I had to step in.”_

 Chanyeol stood up so quickly all of his blood drained from his head, mind spinning and not making sense. Shot? Baekhyun got shot? No, that could not be… Not his Baekhyun…

  _“I managed to neutralise them, but they got me,”_ Baekhyun continued, as if he did not understand that Chanyeol was breaking down on the other side of the line. _“It’s a gut shot, but it shouldn’t be fatal. As long as I get treatment in time, of course… I’m waiting for the evac now, they said they’re just some minutes away, but we know how the government likes to say things that aren’t true…”_

 Chanyeol barely heard the softly whispered words, and he did not understand why his cheeks were so wet, or where all the _noise_ was coming from.

  _“Chanyeol…?”_ Baekhyun softly uttered, and Chanyeol tried to say ‘yes?’, but all he got out was a sob.

 Ah. Well, that explained it, then. He was crying.

  _“Oh, my love, don’t cry,”_ Baekhyun murmured, and Chanyeol could see the sweet smile, plastered against the back of his eyelids. _“I’m fine, really. I’m not going to die. Don’t worry, I’ll get back home to you, I promise. Okay?”_

 Chanyeol had to sniffle and clear his throat a few times, before he managed to speak somewhat clearly.

 “I’ll fucking hold you to that, Byun Baekhyun,” he got out, voice hoarse. “You’ll come back home to me, or I’ll follow you to wherever you’ll go, and bring your ass back here.”

 A soft chuckle, a _weak_ chuckle, flowed over the line, and Chanyeol unconsciously pressed his phone closer to his ear. He knew that was bad, he knew this was really bad, but he could not do anything else but try to breathe, and listen.

  _“Please do. I don’t want to go somewhere where you aren’t,”_ Baekhyun said, voice barely above a whisper by now, and it made Chanyeol’s eyes prickle once more. _“Never leave me… I love you…”_

 “I love you, too, Baekhyun,” Chanyeol whispered into his phone, heart picking up its pace when all he could hear were too shallow breaths. “Baek? Baekhyun! Damn it, Baekhyun, answer me!”

 The call was abruptly cut off, and Chanyeol was no longer able to fill his lungs with air. Cursing and crying, Chanyeol tried to redial Baekhyun’s number, fingers trembling and vision blurry. But no matter how many times he called, he just got to the voice mail.

 There was a rapid knocking at the door, but at first, Chanyeol ignored it. He needed to get ahold of Baekhyun, he needed to know he was alright, dammit!

 “Chanyeol! I know you’re in there!” a voice called out, and in his desperate daze, Chanyeol recognized the voice. “He’s fine, Baekhyun’s fine!”

 This finally snapped Chanyeol out of his trance, and he ran over to the door, tearing it open to find a grim-looking Jongdae standing outside of it.

 “Wha-” Chanyeol began, trying to ask what Jongdae had said, but choking on tears.

 Jongdae promptly pushed Chanyeol inside, stepping after him, before closing the door. Sighing, he dragged a hand through his hair, walking into the living room, Chanyeol trailing after him.

 “Baekhyun’s fine. Or, well, not _fine_ , but he’s alive. They’ve picked him up, and they’re rushing him to a hospital. He’ll be fine, he lost consciousness and some blood, but his life isn’t in danger so far,” Jongdae said, quickly catching Chanyeol as the taller collapsed. “Whoa, hey there, take it easy! Come on, sit down in the sofa, let’s go…”

 Relief washed over Chanyeol, icy as the winter sea, draining the adrenaline from him and making his knees weak and entire body shaking.

 “He’s alive,” Chanyeol repeated over and over to himself, putting his head in his hands as he tried to breathe. Jongdae sat down next to him, rubbing his back and sighing once more.

 “Yeah, he’s alive… As soon as they tell me where they took him, I’ll take you,” Jongdae said, exhaustion giving way to surprise as he found two arms wrapped around him. But he smiled softly as he heard the little sobs Chanyeol gave, and felt his shirt getting damp with tears. “He really worried you, didn’t he? That stupid man is way too careless for his own good, he has someone else than just himself to think about now. He should be more careful.”

 Chanyeol just nodded as he cried the rest of it out, hoping he would soon be able to see Baekhyun again. After all, even though he had been _told_ Baekhyun was fine, it was not the same as actually _seeing_ it for himself.

 

 There was a pressure around his hand, a too-warm kind of pressure, different from the aching pressure in his stomach. Baekhyun did not know what it was, but he knew that he hoped it would never ease. There was something comforting about the pressure around his hand, since it warmed his always so cold hands, even if it was almost to the point of sweating.

 He was fine with that, though. As long as the pressure never eased, he would be fine with whatever.

 There was also a soft murmuring, deep and sweet, and it made Baekhyun want to get closer. It was warm and nice at the bottom of the sea, but something about that murmuring made him force himself up, up, closer to the surface, closer to the light. Even as the pain became worse, he forced himself higher, higher, needing to be closer to the murmuring, the warm pressure.

 Then Baekhyun broke through the surface, dragging a ragged breath and wincing, trying to blink his tears away from the overly bright light. There was a dull ache in his stomach, that made him want to itch it, and he recognized it as a stitched wound. His memories returned like a tide - memories of the mission, of it going wrong, of getting shot in the stomach.

 Of Chanyeol sobbing on the phone.

 That memory was the most painful, and Baekhyun took another breath, hands curling by his sides.

 Then Baekhyun remembered that sweet pressure around his hand, a pressure he hoped would never leave, a pressure that was still there.

 A pressure that was tightening, and Baekhyun tilted his head to the side to see a mop of dark hair, wide shoulders, and adorable ears.

 The head slowly lifted, eyes blinking, and Baekhyun could not keep the smile from pushing the corners of his lips up. Large eyes widened even more, in disbelief, before they started to fill up.

 “Baekhyun,” Chanyeol breathed, voice messy, and Baekhyun could only nod, the lump in his throat refusing to let any sound pass.

 A watery chuckle left Chanyeol’s lips as he cupped one of Baekhyun’s cheeks, still holding on to his hand.

 “You’re awake… You’re fine…,” Chanyeol mumbled, and Baekhyun’s heart tore in two from the pain and happiness in his husband’s voice. Oh, how worried he must have been…

 “Hey, babe,” Baekhyun said, needing to say something, even though his voice was hoarse and his throat was raw. Even if he bled, it was all worth it, to see Chanyeol give one of his silly wide grins - even as a tear ran down his cheek. “I’m sorry for scaring you…”

 Chanyeol hushed Baekhyun with a soft kiss, nothing more than a peck to his lips, but it was still enough for Baekhyun to completely melt. He had missed Chanyeol, and not realized just how incomplete he had felt until he finally saw his lovely giant again.

 Baekhyun was whole again, and it was a scary realization, how much he needed Chanyeol.

 “It’s fine,” Chanyeol said, brushing his thumb across Baekhyun’s cheekbone. “I knew your job was dangerous, and I still got involved with you. And even though I hated seeing you lying here so pale and… Yeah, even though I hated it, I wouldn’t change a thing. I could never regret choosing you.”

 By now, Baekhyun was crying as well, touched by his husband’s words. Willing his limbs to move, he shakily placed a hand over Chanyeol’s hand on his cheek.

 “I love you,” Baekhyun said, smiling even through the tears. “I love you so much.”

 “I love you, too,” Chanyeol answered, before once more leaning down and pressing their lips together.

 Softly, just a light pressure, but a pressure Baekhyun hoped he would be able to feel for many more years to come. Just like the warm pressure around his hands.

 After all, Baekhyun’s hands were made to be held by Chanyeol’s, and Chanyeol’s lips were made to be kissed by Baekhyun’s. They were made for each other. Simple as that.

 

 Baekhyun had to spend a little over a week at the hospital, but thankfully, it had been a clean shot. Chanyeol stayed with him for most of it, glaring at whatever nurse came to try to make him leave as the visiting hours were up. It did not take long before they realized it was a lost cause, and let the married couple be.

 Towards the end of his stay, Baekhyun was much better, though not as good as he tried to claim he was. Which became very obvious whenever he lured Chanyeol close for some making up for the time they had spent apart - both by distance, and by injuries. No matter how hard Baekhyun tugged, Chanyeol easily stood his ground, looking down at Baekhyun’s face flushing deeper and deeper, amusement obvious in his grin.

 And when Chanyeol finally gave in, leaning down and letting Baekhyun press their lips together, it did not take long before all of that tugging, and all of that kissing, became too much for Baekhyun’s heart. Setting off the heart rate monitor, and making Baekhyun huff in annoyance and embarrassment as one of the nurses rushed inside to check up on him.

 He did get some revenge on the widely smiling Chanyeol, though, since all of the nurses scolded _him_ instead of Baekhyun.

 “You should know better, Mr. Park!” they would say, frowning up at the taller who would immediately bow his head like a misbehaving child. “He’s still recovering, and you shouldn’t raise his pulse like that!”

 It was just a slight comfort, but it was better than nothing, Baekhyun assumed. He was getting really tired of being bound to the hospital bed, and of feeling so weak. His butt and back hurt from lying down so much, and he became more and more whiny as the days went past.

 “You’re a really bad patient, aren’t you?” Chanyeol snickered one day as Baekhyun flailed around, trying to get comfortable - but of course not succeeding. “It’s a good thing you’re so cute!”

 “Park Chanyeol, don’t think I won’t remember this when I’m out of here,” Baekhyun threatened, sending Chanyeol the darkest glare as of yet, but it only made Chanyeol’s smile widen.

 “I know it’s horrible, but hold out for a few more days,” Chanyeol said, reaching out to tuck Baekhyun’s hair behind his ear. It was getting so long now… “Then we can go home, together.”

 Sighing, Baekhyun leaned into the touch, wishing the day would come faster. He was really not good at staying still.

 

 When Baekhyun was finally released from the hospital, Chanyeol could almost swear he saw tears in his husband’s eyes. Not that Chanyeol was not happy as well - he did not like hospitals, especially not when someone dear to him was lying in the hospital bed - but he had already cried so much, and felt like he was a bit wrung out.

 Still refusing to let go of Baekhyun’s hand for too long, Chanyeol held on to it as he drove them home, only releasing it to change gears, before picking it up again. Every time he did, Baekhyun would give a soft smile, as if saying that he was thankful that Chanyeol held on to him.

 Baekhyun had told Chanyeol about when he had been unconscious, and how Chanyeol’s voice and Chanyeol holding on to him was what had brought him back to the surface. After that, Chanyeol had become even more eager to hold on to him, and Baekhyun surely had not complained about it.

 Arriving at their home, Chanyeol quickly rushed over to Baekhyun’s side of the car to help him. Even as Baekhyun protested about not being an invalid and being fully capable of walking on his own, Chanyeol knew from how the shorter leaned against him that he was grateful for the support. Baekhyun might be healing, but he was still far from completely fine, and was still hurting some.

 With a tired sigh, Baekhyun collapsed into the sofa, almost bringing Chanyeol to the floor since his arm was around the taller’s shoulders still. Chuckling an apology, Baekhyun released Chanyeol and leaned his head back, eyes falling closed.

 “It feels good to be home,” Baekhyun mumbled, a small smile on his lips.

 Leaning forwards to gently capture that smile, Chanyeol then leaned back with a matching smile.

 “Welcome home, my love.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah, the first little piece of drama :') but it's okay, it's fine, Baekhyun is alive and recovering! I've killed BaekYeol off too much to do it in this fic! So don't worry! Trust me :')


	7. Chapter VII

 Baekhyun’s recovery went well, and within a few weeks, he was back on his feet. He was still forced to take it slow and easy, and he was on paid leave for as long as needed - much to Chanyeol’s delight. It meant that he could dote on the agent as much as he wanted, and also keep an eye on him.

 Because even though Chanyeol denied it, the events had been rather traumatic for him. There were still nights when he woke up, drenched in cold sweat, looking around in panic before locating Baekhyun and being able to calm down. And there was still nightmares, freezing his heart in fear, until he managed to tear his consciousness from them and make sure that Baekhyun was still next to him, safe and mostly fine.

 And even though Baekhyun tried his very best in helping his husband get over it, some things just took some time.

 “The first time I got shot, I was so scared of even seeing a gun,” Baekhyun mumbled one night, sitting leaned back against Chanyeol’s chest and running his fingers up and down the taller’s arm. He smiled softly as the skin puckered into little goosebumps. “It took me months to get over it, actually.”

 “Exactly how many times have you gotten shot?” Chanyeol asked, trying to sound unaffected, but his heart was beating a bit too fast, and his breathing was a bit too strained.

 “Honestly? I’ve lost count,” Baekhyun said, amusement that Chanyeol certainly did not feel filling his voice. “I mean, not all of the times have been full-on shots, some have been grazes and stuff like that, but I have been in a lot of shootings. A work hazard of mine, I guess.”

 Sighing, Chanyeol pulled Baekhyun closer, making sure to keep his arms away from the healing wound on the shorter’s stomach. It had closed up rather well, but Chanyeol was still very mindful of it. Much to Baekhyun’s chagrin.

 “You know, this really isn’t helping me,” Chanyeol muttered into Baekhyun’s hair.

 “I know, but still, you need to know and understand,” Baekhyun said, reaching up to cup Chanyeol’s cheek, accidentally poking it since he did not actually see what he was doing. “Oops, sorry… I think there’s a difference between _knowing_ one thing, and actually _experiencing_ it. You knew that people have taken shots and other stuff at me before, but you’ve never actually _seen_ it before. Or, well, the aftermath of it. I wish I could say that it’ll never happen again, but that would be a lie. This is my job, this is what I do, and-”

 “I have to accept that, I know,” Chanyeol said with another sigh. “I’m not trying to talk you out of this, I know you love your job, I just need to get used to it. Just… Be careful?”

 Baekhyun smiled and turned around, grunting a bit as the movement pulled on his wound.

 “I will,” he said, giving Chanyeol a quick kiss before Chanyeol forced him to turn forwards again, not wanting to agitate the healing scar too much. “And honestly, I’m very sure that it has scarred over enough to not be in any danger of tearing.”

 “Mhm, sure thing, honey,” Chanyeol said, placing a soft kiss on Baekhyun’s throat. “Still though.”

 Baekhyun muttered something under his breath sounding like ‘Fuck still though’, and Chanyeol chuckled against the skin of the shorter’s neck, making him squirm.

 Just a little bit longer, and then it would be okay, Chanyeol told himself. He just needed to hold back a little more, let Baekhyun recover a little bit more…

 

 When the doctor finally admitted to Baekhyun’s gun injury having healed properly, there was a celebration in the Byun/Park household.

 A celebration that consisted of Chanyeol once more having his ass whopped, before planted firmly on the ground.

 “Ah, that felt nice,” Baekhyun grinned, panting a bit as he wiped the sweat from his forehead and stretched. “You’ve been slacking off, Chanyeol-ah!”

 Chanyeol just sent Baekhyun a glare as he rubbed his sore bottom, wondering how the hell this had happened. He had actually continued working out, even when Baekhyun had not been able to, and this was just not logical.

 “It’s because you went easy on me, stupid,” Baekhyun said with a roll of his eyes, obviously getting why Chanyeol was glaring, reaching out a hand to help Chanyeol stand up. “You’re afraid of hurting me, so you end up being the one hurt. I’m fully healed, Chanyeol, and not a porcelain doll. Again!”

 Grumbling a bit, Chanyeol allowed Baekhyun to pull him up, before getting into starting position once more. This time, he went a bit harder, but still ended up on the floor.

 “Honestly, this is getting insulting,” Baekhyun sighed, shaking his head. “I feel disrespected. I’m not going to break, so stop acting like I’m made of glass!”

 Growling, Chanyeol got up on his own this time, before attacking without warning. His blood was pumping a bit faster and a bit hotter, frustrations that had built during the last months catching up to him.

 “You were shot, of course I’m worried about you!” Chanyeol hissed out as he parried a blow. “What if I end up breaking you, and you have an internal bleeding that we don’t see until it’s too late?”

 Gritting his teeth, Baekhyun landed a kick that Chanyeol just barely blocked, but so forceful that it almost made him kneel down anyway.

 “Everything is fine! All wounds are healed, there’s only scars!” Baekhyun exclaimed. “Give me your all and see for yourself, and stop acting like such a baby!”

 Fueled on even more, Chanyeol released all of his anger into the practice fight. He had been so worried, for so long, barely even daring to _touch_ Baekhyun out of fear he would harm the shorter, and now the care was being thrown back in his face?

 Well, fuck that!

 Chanyeol had no idea when they went from trying to hit each other, to trying to tear each other’s clothes off. One second, he was trying to land a blow, and the other, he could not get close enough even though Baekhyun was pinned against him. Lips met in rough kisses, teeth mixing in as well, and there was sure to be bruises in the morning.

 But neither cared.

 Both tried to get the upper hand, but in the end, it was Chanyeol who succeeded. Forcing Baekhyun down into the sofa, he pinned the shorter male’s hands above his head, before rolling his hips down.

 Arching his back, a breathless moan slipped from Baekhyun’s lips, and Chanyeol was drunk on the sound. It had been so long since last…

 “Lube,” Baekhyun harshly whispered against Chanyeol’s lips, dark voice barely breaking through the haze in the taller’s head. But when it did, it brought a slight blush to Chanyeol’s cheeks.

 “Stay right here,” Chanyeol ordered in his sternest voice, though Baekhyun just smirked and gave a mock salute.

 Disappearing into their bedroom, Chanyeol returned half a minute later, finding Baekhyun now completely nude on the sofa. Splayed across the dark grey fabric, he looked like a lounging god waiting for his latest distraction from eternity. He looked so handsome that Chanyeol could only stop and stare - and ache from how badly he needed and loved the man.

 “Are you just going to stand there staring?” Baekhyun asked, dark eyes dancing with amusement as they gazed over to where Chanyeol stood.

 Snapping back to reality, Chanyeol went back to the sofa, managing to take his pants off without falling. Everything seemed to be going his way today, and he hoped he looked at least just a smidgen as cool as he felt.

 “Turn over,” Chanyeol said when he was next to the sofa, drawing a circle with a finger. Baekhyun just looked at him, slowly raising a brow.

 “Oh? Is that how it’s going to be?” Baekhyun asked, voice dropping lower, but Chanyeol could play that game as well.

 Feeling brave by the fact that he had managed to pin Baekhyun to the sofa (and completely disregarding the fact that Baekhyun had brought him down twice before that), Chanyeol smirked back.

 “Baby, don’t make me have to flip you,” Chanyeol murmured, making his voice throatier, enjoying the way Baekhyun’s eyes fluttered closed for the barest of moments.

 “You’re lucky I’m too fucking impatient to scold you properly,” Baekhyun muttered, sitting up. “How do you want me?”

 “Bend over the armrest, butt in the air,” Chanyeol instructed, taking a moment to just stare as Baekhyun got in position. “Wow… So fucking hot…”

 “You’re not too bad yourself,” Baekhyun drawled as he looked up at Chanyeol, before using his finger to motion for Chanyeol to come closer.

 And Chanyeol obeyed. Because Chanyeol always did what Baekhyun wanted.

 Almost always, at least…

 Since it had been a while since anything had happened, Chanyeol made sure to take his time with Baekhyun. Even though he thought he was going to explode, and Baekhyun cursed Chanyeol to the moon and back, swearing that if he _did not hurry the fuck up_ , Baekhyun would kick his ass.

 “You already did,” Chanyeol grunted after Baekhyun’s fifth threat, as he placed one knee in the sofa, his other foot planted on the ground, and both of his hands on Baekhyun’s hips. “Now shut up!”

 “Make me,” Baekhyun hissed back, glaring over his shoulder at Chanyeol, his heavy breath coming out in stutters.

 “Stop challenging me,” Chanyeol bit out through clenched teeth as he finally, _finally_ , pressed himself into Baekhyun. Just the few first centimeters had him almost sobbing in relief and happiness, and he was almost scared of pushing further, but he was also too far gone to stop now.

 Placing his hands against the armrest, Chanyeol leaned on them as he as slowly as he could continued on, one of Baekhyun’s hands wrapping around Chanyeol’s wrist.

 “I will rip your arm off you so even think of stopping right now,” Baekhyun threatened, but his voice was so breathless, a small moan slipping out, and Chanyeol knew that Baekhyun was too far gone as well, his threats empty.

 And it was not like Chanyeol needed any motivation to continue. Though he _really_ enjoyed the obvious effect he had on his husband.

 Finally slipping the last few centimeters and becoming fully enveloped, Chanyeol let out a shaky breath he had not realized he had been holding, collapsing down on top of Baekhyun. He was fully intending to just rest some and let Baekhyun adjust, but Baekhyun had other things in mind.

 “Baby, please,” Baekhyun gasped out as he began to move on his own - as much as the collapse of Chanyeol allowed, at least. His free hand found its way to Chanyeol’s head, fisting into the hair at the junction of Chanyeol’s neck and head, sending violent shivers down his spine.

 “ _Fuck_ ,” Chanyeol breathed out, the movements of Baekhyun teasing more than it was pleasing, until Chanyeol felt like he was half on his way to go mad.

 Maybe he could just enjoy the moment a little bit later? After all, it had been a long time since last, he would not last long, and they had the entire afternoon and night ahead of them…

 Deciding to fuck it all (both literally and figuratively), Chanyeol wrapped his arms around Baekhyun, holding him down against the armrest but so close, and began to move.

 The sound of skin slapping against skin mixed with their harsh breathing - a gasp woven in here, a moan there - to create a symphony of lewdness. Both men were too intertwined in the joint pleasures they had not experienced in quite a while, and did not hear the sound of a door opening and then closing.

 “Well, shit.”

 Chanyeol choked on a moan at the sudden voice, whilst Baekhyun whined in annoyance.

 “Fuck off, Dae, we're busy!” Baekhyun hissed, clinging to Chanyeol so that the taller would not pull away.

 Cheeks, ears and chest on fire, Chanyeol buried his face against Baekhyun’s neck, gasping as Baekhyun moved a little beneath him.

 “Wait, no way… Byun Baekhyun, are you getting dicked right now?” Jongdae exclaimed, sounding way too happy about the revelation. “I knew it! You act so tough and dominant, but in reality, you just love submitting!”

 Roaring, Baekhyun managed to grip onto something he could throw, flinging it towards Jongdae and hitting the laughing intruder straight in the face. Thankfully, it was just a pillow, but Jongdae looked offended nonetheless.

 “What the fuck, Byun?” Jongdae said, sounding rather upset. “Why did you-”

 “KIM JONGDAE, I SWEAR TO GOD, IF YOU DO NOT LEAVE THIS HOUSE NOW AND LET MY HUSBAND FUCK ME FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MONTHS, I WILL END YOU!”

 Jongdae gave a sullen look, dropping the pillow on the floor and turning.

 “Fine, you don't have to be so mad about it,” he mumbled as he left, and Chanyeol felt a bit bad for Baekhyun’s supposed best friend. But just a bit.

 Baekhyun hissed some curses, before glancing up at Chanyeol over his shoulder.

 “So… Mood completely ruined?”

 But, as ashamed as Chanyeol was to admit it, the mood was barely ruined. It had been long since last, after all, and all the wiggling Baekhyun had done had kept Chanyeol teased and ready.

 “Well…,” Chanyeol began, choking a little as Baekhyun smirked and slowly pushed himself backwards.

 

 A while later, they were lying on the sofa, Chanyeol in Baekhyun’s arms as they calmed down from their high.

 “I wonder what Jongdae wanted,” Chanyeol mumbled, eyes closed as he was slipping closer towards dreamland. “How did he even get inside?”

 Baekhyun burst out laughing, making Chanyeol’s head bounce a little and waking him up a bit.

 “You’re asking how the secret agent managed to get inside of a locked house? Really?”

 Chanyeol realized how silly his question was, joining in the amusement with a low chuckle.

 “Okay, fine, but _why_ did he break into our house, then?” Chanyeol asked instead, propping his chin up on Baekhyun’s chest so he could see the shorter’s face.

 “No idea, but I need to have a chat with him about respecting my privacy now that I’m married,” Baekhyun mumbled, absently brushing Chanyeol’s hair out of his face.

 “Good plan,” Chanyeol said, lying down a bit more comfortably again as he closed his eyes. “Wouldn’t want that to happen again…”

 

~*~

 

 “Today we’ll begin your lessons on weapons,” Baekhyun suddenly said before one of their weekly practices, making Chanyeol choke on the water he had been drinking.

 “Excuse you what?” Chanyeol managed to get out after he had coughed for a few minutes to clear his airways, Baekhyun worriedly slapping his back. “Weapons?!”

 “Well, you should at least be a bit familiar with them,” Baekhyun answered, giving Chanyeol’s back one last stroke, before he walked over to the coffee table and picked some things up. “Don’t worry, I won’t let you handle _real_ weapons just yet… We’re just going to check how good your aim is. For now, at least.”

 Chanyeol choked once again, but this time on air.

 “For now?! I have to use a real gun some day?!” Chanyeol exclaimed, voice cracking.

 “Of course? If a situation arise in which you have to use a gun, I would prefer if you were actually able to use it,” Baekhyun said, walking back to Chanyeol and handing him a gun.

 A Nerf gun.

 Chanyeol looked down at the ‘weapon’ in his hand, frowning and pursing his lips.

 “I mean… This feels a bit…,” he slowly said, tilting his head to the side and scratching his neck.

 “Like I said, we’re checking your aim first and foremost,” Baekhyun said as he began to walk away, talking to Chanyeol over his shoulder. “I need to take you to a gun range to have you test a _real_ weapon, so until then, it’s going to be Nerf guns.”

 Giving a small shrug, Chanyeol took advantage of Baekhyun having his back against him. Whipping out his arm, he squeezed the trigger, a dart flying towards his unsuspecting husband.

 His unsuspecting husband who somehow sidestepped and dodged the dart, then quickly spun around and launched a dart that hit Chanyeol straight in the chest, without giving Chanyeol the time to even try to dodge.

 “Wha- Ho- Wh-” Chanyeol exclaimed, staring at Baekhyun with wide eyes and finger pointed.

 “Lesson number one, use your surroundings to your advantage!” Baekhyun called out, voice commanding and making Chanyeol instinctively want to straighten up. “I saw you in the mirror hanging on the wall, so I saw you move, and I saw where you stood, so I just had to dodge and then just aim for where you were behind me. Always look out for reflective surfaces, make sure you can’t be seen in them, and make sure you can use them to check on where people are.”

 Chanyeol nodded at that as he glanced over at the mirror behind Baekhyun, eyes widening as he saw his husband’s reflection raise his arm, and then another dart hit him in the forehead.

 “Lesson number two! Never take your eyes off of your enemy!” Baekhyun called out.

 “But how am I supposed to look for reflective surfaces _and_ not look away from you?!” Chanyeol protested. “And I was still looking at you in the mirror!”

 Baekhyun gave a boyish grin that had Chanyeol’s insides doing flips.

 “Get better reflexes?” Baekhyun said with a shrug, laughing loudly as Chanyeol retaliated by shooting at him, yet again missing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the lateness of this, but the big smut scene really had me stumped... Don't know why this fic turned so dirty, lol, but it'll calm down a bit during the next few chapters (I hope). Might be a while until next update as well, since I'm going to focus on getting my Swedish essay finished, so I can start on my next subject, but I should only be gone for a few days! But really, I've decided on no fanfic writing until I'm done with the essay, so, nothing will be written. Maybe a few notes here and there, but nothing more than that. Today is the last day, and if you guys are lucky, I might be able to finish something in the last couple of hours left, but don't get your hopes up.  
> Still, hope you enjoyed Jongdae cockblocking BaekYeol - I sure did!


	8. Chapter VIII

 The Nerf gun practice turned into a sort of competition between the husbands. Baekhyun of course had the upper hand, because of him being a secret agent after all, but Chanyeol did all in his power to try to learn as quickly as possible.

 He even began to sleep with his Nerf gun beneath his pillow, until one night when Baekhyun almost injured his hand on it during some rather rough playtime, and he made the rule of no firearms in the bed. With a pout, Chanyeol delegated the gun to his bedside table instead.

 That was also when Chanyeol found out that Baekhyun had a _real_ gun in his bedside table drawer.

 “Why do you need to have a gun in our _bedroom_?” Chanyeol asked, horrified as he looked at the deadly black object in Baekhyun’s hand.

 Baekhyun rolled his eyes as he slid the clip out and put it next to him.

 “If somebody break in, I need to have access to a weapon no matter where I am. Do you really think I can go ‘Excuse me for a moment, Mr. Burglar, but I just need to go get my weapon!’?”

 Chanyeol pursed his lips as he slowly nodded, admitting to the truth in Baekhyun’s statement.

 Then he suddenly had a gun pushed into his hands.

 “Here, try it out,” Baekhyun said as Chanyeol fumbled with the firearm. “I took the bullets out, so you won’t accidentally fire it, but it’s good to get a feel for it.”

 “Do I really need to try your gun out whilst naked?” Chanyeol protested, cheeks heating up a bit as he realized the double entendre. “Uh. Pun not intended.”

 Baekhyun gave a cheeky little smirk as he leaned closer, stretching his body in a way that made Chanyeol unable to not stare.

 “I mean, why not? Naked is the best way,” Baekhyun murmured, wiggling his eyebrows, and Chanyeol was unable to hold back a smile.

 “You’re so stupid,” Chanyeol sighed adoringly.

 “But you love me,” Baekhyun snickered, suddenly changing from sexy manly to cute boyish.

 “Yeah, I do,” Chanyeol whispered as he put the gun down on the bed next to them, then leaned over Baekhyun to force him to lie down on his back. “More than I can ever put into words. More than the amount of stars in your eyes.”

 Baekhyun smiled softly as he wrapped his arms around Chanyeol’s shoulders and began to pull him in.

 “But all of the stars in my eyes belong to you, my love,” Baekhyun said, before pressing their lips together in a passionate kiss.

 

 Until Baekhyun proved that he was mentally and physically sound enough to get back to work, and any fitting assignments came for him, he was forced to spend time at home. Forced might be the wrong word, though, since he rather enjoyed spending his time fighting Chanyeol in all the different ways, or just lying around lazily with him.

 And Chanyeol himself was ecstatic, because not only was he able to spend precious time with his husband, but he also did not have to worry about the risks involved with being a secret agent.

 Though, there were bad sides to Baekhyun’s temporary vacation as well. Like how he made sure that Chanyeol was staying in shape - or rather shaped up even more.

 Or the day Baekhyun took Chanyeol to the shooting range for the first time.

 It was a nice, sunny afternoon, and after some after-training cuddles, Baekhyun had pulled Chanyeol into the shower to clean up. Still blissfully half out of his mind, Chanyeol had allowed the shorter to dress him and drag him out of the house, before driving them off to wherever.

 It was not until Baekhyun made a turn into the parking lot of a gathering of houses of varying sizes that Chanyeol finally realized that something was going on. Sitting a bit straighter in his seat, Chanyeol tried to figure out just where they were, but had no such luck.

 “Uh, babe, where are we?” Chanyeol asked as Baekhyun parked and turned the car off.

 “Oh, right, you’ve never been here before,” Baekhyun mumbled as he tapped the car key against his lips. “This is where I work!”

 Dread ran through Chanyeol like as if somebody had poured a bucket of ice cold water over his head, and he turned back to the suddenly so looming buildings in front of him with large eyes.

 “I promise, they’re not gonna eat you,” Baekhyun drawled as he patted Chanyeol’s thigh, then opened his door. “Come on, let’s go inside. I promise that most of them are nice! Just pray we won’t run into Jongdae…”

 Chanyeol managed a small chuckle at that, but it sounded kind of breathy in a way he really disliked. Clearing his throat, he instead focused on getting out of the car without falling and making a fool out of himself. There had to be a billion security cameras around, after all…

 Baekhyun quickly walked over to Chanyeol’s side and took his hand, squeezing it reassuringly, before they walked towards the entrance. Chanyeol felt a bit underdressed in his jeans and long-sleeved shirt, considering the amount of people in suits around, but he tried to ignore that. Baekhyun was casually dressed as well, and it was not as if they were there for business anyway.

 Wait. _Why_ were they there?

 Chanyeol did not get a chance to ask, though, since as soon as they stepped through the entrance, they were subjected to different security measures. And Chanyeol promised to never complain at the airport ever again, because the airport security was a breeze compared to this.

 “Sorry, Yeol, but we’re going to the important parts, so it’s kind of needed,” Baekhyun apologized sheepishly as he stood watching Chanyeol get patted down after going through the metal detector.

 “No, it’s fine, I understand, but why don’t _you_ have to go through this as well?” Chanyeol asked, teeth lightly gritted as he finally got his shoes back and could put them on.

 Snickering, Baekhyun held up his badge denoting him as an agent.

 “Special privileges, but I’ll talk to my boss about getting you a sort of visitor’s pass. After all, you might be coming here a lot…”

 As Chanyeol was cleared, Baekhyun led the way towards a pair of double glass doors, pushing one open and motioning for Chanyeol to go inside. It led to a long corridor, with doors at even intervals, before it opened up into a gigantic and chaotic room. There were people talking to each other, people running around, people sitting around, and Chanyeol felt oddly lost.

 “Welcome to the office,” Baekhyun said in an amused voice as he crossed his arms over his chest and grinned up at Chanyeol, obviously noticing how overwhelmed the taller was.

 “Baek, you sucker, are you back already?” a familiar voice exclaimed, and soon they were able to see Jongdae make his way over to them. His eyes widened as he took in Chanyeol, but then he gave a bright grin. “Bringing the husband along as well, oh, how lovely! Chanyeol, how are you doing?”

 “Uh, fine?” Chanyeol answered, glancing over at Baekhyun and worrying a bit over how polite Jongdae acted.

 “He’s trying to seduce Liyin,” Baekhyun offered as explanation, and was promptly attacked by a loudly hushing Jongdae.

 “Keep your voice down, stupid!” Jongdae hissed, looking around. The loud room acted in his favor, though, as it seemed like no one had noticed Baekhyun’s words.

 “Why are you worrying so much? We all know, I even think she does as well!” Baekhyun exclaimed, laughing and screaming a bit as Jongdae’s grip on his neck hardened. “Ah, Chanyeol, save me!”

 Sighing a bit, Chanyeol looked over at Jongdae, who pouted but released Baekhyun.

 “It’s not because I think you can take me,” Jongdae quickly assured, but Baekhyun snorted at that. “Do you want me to pin you down again?”

 “Only my husband is allowed to do that,” Baekhyun teased from next to Chanyeol, sticking his tongue out at Jongdae who mirrored it.

 Chanyeol’s cheeks were starting to heat up, so he cleared his throat to gain the children’s attention.

 “So, what are we doing here? Touring the office?” Chanyeol asked, motioning towards said room.

 “Ah, nope, we’re not,” Baekhyun said as he straightened up and smiled sweetly. “Just thought you wanted to get a look, before we head off to our real destination.”

 “Can I come? I’m bored,” Jongdae asked in a very bored tone.

 Baekhyun contemplated it for a moment, before nodding. “MIght actually be a good thing, so yeah, you’re allowed to come along. Play nice, though.”

 Jongdae batted his eyelashes at Baekhyun, making the latter grimace.

 “Am I not always playing nice?”

 “Come on, let’s go,” Baekhyun said with a sigh, taking Chanyeol’s hand and dragging him along.

 They went into another corridor that seemed to lead into another building, and after a while, Jongdae began to cackle.

 “Oh my god, no way? This is going to be good!” he exclaimed, and Chanyeol began to worry once more, but Baekhyun merely sent an amused smile Jongdae’s way as they continued.

 

 “Nope. No way. Nu-uh. No. Never ever in my entire life.”

 “You’ll run out of ways to say no soon,” Jongdae drawled as he leaned against the wall, pretending to clean his nails, before looking up at Chanyeol. “How bad can it be?”

 Chanyeol looked over at the large sign spelling out ‘GUN RANGE’ in bold, black letters, before shivering.

 “Really bad. There’ll be guns in there, and I’m expected to handle one!” Chanyeol protested, shaking his head.

 “Really, Chanyeol, I know it says ‘gun range’, but it’s actually a ‘fun range’!” Jongdae grinned, rubbing his hands together as his smile turned more sinister. “Seriously, you have no idea how fun it is to put some holes through some targets…”

 Before Chanyeol was able to say anything, Baekhyun had taken both of his hands in his own, holding them tight as he looked up at the taller.

 “Chanyeol, I know this is probably quite the scary experience, and I know you were pretty traumatized after what happened to me, but this _is_ important. I need you to be able to defend yourself properly, and part of doing that is being able to handle a weapon. I promise, you don’t have to try out something big and scary, but I need you to try to shoot at least once. And I’ll be there for it all, okay?”

 It was not often Baekhyun showed his vulnerability. Most of the times, Chanyeol only saw it when Baekhyun was getting lost in pleasure, but it was not the same as the vulnerability he showed now. This had to do with Baekhyun wanting Chanyeol to be safe and sound, and Chanyeol could understand that.

 And, after all, he had promised Baekhyun he would do whatever necessary to be able to stay together, and if that meant pointing a dangerous weapon at some inanimate objects, then… Then Chanyeol was doing that.

 “Okay, fine. I’ll try once, at least,” Chanyeol said, giving in with a small sigh. “For you.”

 “Thank you,” Baekhyun whispered as he placed a hand against Chanyeol’s cheek, getting up on the tips of his toes to be able to press a short, chaste kiss against Chanyeol’s lips.

 “Ew,” Jongdae said from next to them, but the married couple ignored him.

 

 Chanyeol found out that all of his training with his trusted Nerf gun had not even come close to preparing him for the real deal. For starters, Nerf guns did not have a recoil. Neither did they sound like a firework going off right next to your ear.

 Thankfully, Chanyeol was outfitted with a pair of headphones for protection, but the sound of the gun was still surprisingly loud. It actually shocked him so much he almost dropped it after his first shot, the recoil not helping at all.

 But at least he managed to hit the target, even if it was not within the markings. Oh, well, it was his first time…

 In the end, Chanyeol shot four times, before he gave up. By then, his hands and arms were shaking from how tense he was, and also scared. Because he was, he was terrified, and not ashamed to admit it.

 “This is actually pretty good, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun said as he unclipped the large sheet of paper, looking over the four hits, a soft smile playing on his lips. “Better than I thought you would do, considering you’ve only trained with Nerf guns so far… Not bad at all!”

 “We can still make an agent out of you!” Jongdae piped up, having been strangely quiet throughout Chanyeol’s shootings.

 “No,” Baekhyun said, rather briskly, making both Chanyeol and Jongdae look at him. “I don’t want him out there… Too many dangers.”

 Leaning his hip against the little table in the booth, Chanyeol crossed his arms and raised a brow. Baekhyun ignored him for a few seconds, before pursing his lips.

 “Okay, yeah, I get what you mean,” Baekhyun then muttered, folding the target and handing it over to Chanyeol. “Still, though. We don’t need to throw both of us out there.”

 “What, to make sure the kids doesn’t become parentless?” Chanyeol asked, softly mocking.

 Baekhyun swiftly punched him in the shoulder, but there was a small smile on his lips.

 “End of discussion, let’s go, I’m hungry.”

 

 Chanyeol kept up with his Nerf gun training, politely declining going to the gun range at Baekhyun’s job again. He claimed the hassle of getting inside was too much, and would rather just wait until Baekhyun’s boss managed to provide a visitor’s pass. This was, of course, not the full truth, and Baekhyun of course realized, but he did not push Chanyeol.

 “We’ll continue when you feel comfortable enough,” he said once, clicking his tongue. “The visitor’s pass probably requires a lot from my boss, but I don’t want to pressure you into something you don’t want to do…”

 At that, Chanyeol merely pouted until Baekhyun kissed it away, and then nothing more was mentioned of it for the rest of the day.

 Until the day Chanyeol accidentally headshotted Baekhyun.

 Chanyeol had for many days tried to surprise attack his husband, but it was during their specified gun training that he managed to hit Baekhyun. Straight in the eye.

 Thankfully, Baekhyun had been able to close his eyes before the projectile hit him, but it still hurt.

 “Oh my god, I am so sorry!” Chanyeol had gasped, immediately dropping his gun and rushing over to Baekhyun’s side as the latter had pressed his hand against his eye and hissed in pain.

 It took a few seconds of tightly clenched teeth before Baekhyun’s breathing returned to normal, and he managed to calm down enough to actually speak.

 “Holy fuck, Yeol!” he exclaimed, blinking before groaning and closing his eye again. “I mean, great aim, I’d be dead if it was a real gun, but be a bit careful with me?”

 Even as a note of teasing had interlaced itself into Baekhyun’s voice, Chanyeol still felt panic wrap around his heart and squeeze it.

 “I’m so sorry, Baekhyun, it was not my meaning,” Chanyeol rushed, reaching out to touch, but pulling back before he was able to, out of fear to hurt Baekhyun more.

 Looking up at Chanyeol with his good eye, Baekhyun sighed, the corners of his lips turning up just slightly.

 “My silly love, don’t worry so much,” Baekhyun mumbled, stepping closer to Chanyeol. “Now hug me and comfort me, and promise not to shoot me in the eye again. Accidental eye shots aren’t fun at all!”

 Still feeling a bit shaky, Chanyeol wrapped his arms gently around Baekhyun, unable to stop himself from chuckling over the dirty alternative meaning behind Baekhyun’s words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaah, I'm back, after sickness and fic fest stress! Okay, the stress is not over, but I felt I needed to update my ongoing fics, so... Hope y'all are still enjoying this, and not minding too much that I'm sucky at updating! Just a lot of things going on, and my mind is a literal mess, but, yeah. Whatevs, right, haha! *sobs*


	9. Chapter IX

 Time continued to pass quickly as Chanyeol and Baekhyun continued with their routines and habits. After Chanyeol shot Baekhyun in the eye, and Chanyeol’s visitor’s pass had arrived, Chanyeol no longer had any viable excuses to not return to the shooting range, and Baekhyun managed to get them to go once a week. Chanyeol of course hated it, but he began to become used to handling guns, and his shooting improved even more.

 Baekhyun also began to work again, mostly taking on smaller and easier jobs. Both to ease himself into it again, and to ease Chanyeol’s worries. Only accepting missions inside of South Korea, Baekhyun made sure to stay as close as possible, in case something happened.

 Before long, it was winter, and the husbands spent their first Christmas together. It was the first time Chanyeol celebrated with family - even if it was just Baekhyun - since many years, and the first time in a very long time that Baekhyun celebrated at home and not with the other agents.

 Going pretty much all out, Chanyeol and Baekhyun bought the prettiest Christmas tree they could find, drowning it in glitters and glass baubles, and placing the most horrific and over-the-top star at the top of the tree. The rest of the small house was decorated with even more glitter and sparkling lights, and they spent an afternoon baking different Christmas goodies, like gingerbread and saffron buns, until the entire place smelled like typical Christmas. Oranges with cloves and mistletoes were hanging from different parts of the house, further adding to the scents, and it was extremely clichey and stupid, but both Chanyeol and Baekhyun loved it.

 They created their own dream Christmas to celebrate finally being able to have their dream Christmas.

 A few days before Christmas Eve, a quite severe storm blew in, covering large parts of South Korea in snow - including the neighborhood Chanyeol and Baekhyun lived in. Having spent the night on the sofa, eating whatever they could find in the light of candles after the power went out, they woke up to sore backs and the sun shining down on a blinding, white vastness.

 Chanyeol was the first who made the connection, jumping around in the living room like a young child, screaming “Snow, it’s snow!”. At one point, he took a hold of Baekhyun’s hands and began to drag him around as well, until Baekhyun was dizzy, and breathless from laughing so much.

 “Let’s go out and make snow angels!” Chanyeol suggested, coming to a stop and pulling Baekhyun closer. “And build a snowman! Do you wanna build a snowman?”

 Baekhyun tried to frown up at Chanyeol, but was failing miserably as his smile was still showing.

 “Don’t dare sing Frozen songs to me, or you’ll be sleeping in the snow from now on!” Baekhyun weakly threatened, and Chanyeol just laughed as he began to pull Baekhyun towards the door.

 Having been on a few ski trips, Chanyeol had the appropriate clothing for going outside into the snow, and he lent some of it to Baekhyun. The older almost looked like a child, decked out in Chanyeol’s too large clothes, completely different from how he looked when wearing Chanyeol’s hoodies and t-shirts, but Chanyeol loved this cuter Baekhyun so much as well. Pulling a beanie down on Baekhyun’s head, Chanyeol leaned forwards and pecked the shorter’s nose quickly, before getting back to getting himself ready.

 When they were both properly outfitted, they went outside, heading around the back of their house. A fence went around the entire property, and it was high enough to keep most curious people out and unable to see inside. Baekhyun said it was a security measure, but Chanyeol was more thankful for the minimized risk of running into the grumpy old lady again.

 As soon as possible, Chanyeol dropped Baekhyun’s hand, and dropped himself into the snow. Giggling, he began to drag his arms and legs back and forth, forming the snow angel.

 “Come on, Baek! You have to make an angel as well!” Chanyeol called out to his husband, who was standing by his side and smiling down softly at him.

 “I have to?” Baekhyun asked, mouth forming his famous rectangular smile, adoration clear in his eyes, and it had Chanyeol feeling so warm inside even though he was lying in a pile of frozen water.

 “Yes! Whenever there’s snow, you have to make a snow angel, I don’t make the rules!” Chanyeol answered, feeling as if he was ten years younger. He felt so light, as if he had never gone through all the troubles and heartaches and headaches. He guessed that was the magic of winter and snow, how everything bad seemed to disappear when you were surrounded by pure white.

 Chuckling, Baekhyun finally complied and lied down in the snow as well, falling backwards with his arms outstretched and eyes closed. Chanyeol sat up and watched his husband beginning to move, pushing the snow aside, eyes still not opening, but the same amazing smile on his lips.

 Because Baekhyun was as radiating and blinding as the sun shining down on the snow, and Chanyeol knew he would forever be blind to everything else. Baekhyun outshone everything, and Chanyeol did not mind in the least.

 And if Baekhyun ever disappeared, Chanyeol would search the entire universe to find his star.

 “You’re so cheesy,” Baekhyun suddenly said, and Chanyeol realized that he had said it all out loud.

 Ignoring that he was destroying his own angel, and probably Baekhyun’s as well, Chanyeol lied down between Baekhyun’s spread legs, propping himself up on his elbows so he could still look down at his handsome husband.

 “All your fault, you’re too wonderful,” Chanyeol whispered, and now Baekhyun finally opened his eyes, almost overwhelming Chanyeol with all of the twinkling stars in their depths. “And you love how cheesy I am.”

 Reaching up, Baekhyun placed a gloved hand against Chanyeol’s cheek, the cold from the snow stuck to it making Chanyeol shiver.

 “I’ll agree to me loving your cheesy side,” Baekhyun whispered back, smiling so widely. “But don’t tell anyone, it would ruin my image!”

 “I think Jongdae ruined it to your office after he walked in on us,” Chanyeol said, rolling his eyes. “Not that I understand why it’s less manly to bottom, but yeah?”

 Baekhyun’s soft smile had been switched for something more impish as he shrugged, moving both of his hands to Chanyeol’s covered backside.

 “He’s never received a good dicking, that’s why he can’t understand,” Baekhyun answered, and Chanyeol choked on air. “Honestly, Yeol, ‘dicking’ is not even that horrible of an expression! You love it!”

 Not seeing any other way out of it, Chanyeol pressed his lips against Baekhyun, cheeks burning, just to make his husband shut up. The warmth and the small chuckle from Baekhyun sent small jolts of electricity down Chanyeol’s spine, and when he pulled back, he was almost breathless even though the kiss had been rather chaste.

 “We’re outside, anyone could hear us,” Chanyeol protested in a small voice, to which Baekhyun wiggled his eyebrows and kept grinning.

 “That just makes it even more fun… How about trying to shock the poor lady next door again?”

 And just like that, Chanyeol found himself calling out in surprise as he was suddenly flipped around and pressed into the snow by Baekhyun’s strong arms, straddled by his husband. Baekhyun licked his lips, eyes dark with hunger, and Chanyeol felt that same hunger pulling at his guts.

 “It’s a shame you need so many layers to keep warm, but I guess we can continue this out here when spring comes around,” Baekhyun murmured, having leaned down and pressed his lips to where Chanyeol’s ears were hidden by his beanie.

 A combination of lust and cold sent a shudder down Chanyeol’s entire body, and he needed to get Baekhyun inside of the house as quickly as possible.

 Apparently having the same thought, Baekhyun quickly and gracefully got up on his feet, helping Chanyeol up as well before pulling him inside. After having peeled all of the clothes off of each other, the husbands warmed each other up in the shower, water and hands and lips chasing all of the lingering cold away.

 

 Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were spent in the calmness of their home, with food cooked together and a few gifts. Baekhyun had found his fangs again, and as soon as Chanyeol opened the little box they were in, he felt his cheeks flame. It took two hours for the next gift to be opened, as they suddenly became a bit preoccupied with each other.

 New Year’s Eve was spent in the same fashion, but with takeout and champagne, before they sat down in front of their living room windows to watch whatever fireworks their neighbors were firing, wrapped in each other’s arms.

 “I never thought I’d ever be able to spend the holidays this happily,” Baekhyun silently admitted as silvery sparks slowly floated down across the sky. “I always thought that because of my work, I’d have to spend the rest of my life alone, maybe with my colleagues… I’m so happy we meet, Chanyeol.”

 “Same,” Chanyeol whispered back, kissing Baekhyun’s temple, and then his left ring finger. “Thank you for giving me a chance.”

 “I never had a chance against you, so you shouldn’t thank me,” Baekhyun chuckled, looking up at Chanyeol with so much love that Chanyeol felt a bit light-headed. “Thank you for not giving up.”

 Leaning down, Chanyeol pressed his lips against Baekhyun’s, fireworks exploding in his veins and matching the ones outside of their windows.

 

 Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and for Chanyeol, it began when spring began to bloom.

 Baekhyun was away at a mission, spending a whole week away from home, and Chanyeol was missing him like crazy. There was only two days to go until Baekhyun’s supposed homecoming, but Chanyeol knew it could be longer. And due to the sensitivity of the mission, they had only been able to have limited contact, leaving Chanyeol feeling a bit more on the edge.

 And running into the lady next door did not really help his mood.

 As always, Chanyeol politely bowed his head in greeting, but unlike usually, the lady did not race into her house. Instead, she seemed to stand her ground, face set in a determined frown.

 “How can you live in marriage with another man?” the lady finally spit out, and Chanyeol tried his best not to sigh over the words. “It’s a disrespect against nature itself! How can you live with that knowledge?”

 “Actually, a large amount of animals engage in some kind of homosexual activity,” Chanyeol said, trying to sound as non hostile and gentle as possible. He was so close to not giving a damn anymore…

 The lady merely wrinkled her nose in disgust, crossing her arms over her chest and shaking her head.

 “We are humans, not animals!” she exclaimed, not giving Chanyeol the chance to correct her as she continued. “How does your parents allow this to happen? Have they no respect for our country?”

“Oh, don't worry, my parents did not approve of this,” Chanyeol said, faking cheerfulness, finally snapping. He was so tired of this shit already, and with everything, it just became too much suddenly… “They disowned me as soon as they found out I liked kissing boys!”

 And with that, Chanyeol turned around and stomped inside of the house, ignoring the lady and not staying to check her reaction. Why should he try to accept the fact that she did not accept him?

 When Baekhyun arrived a day early, Chanyeol was still upset about the happening, telling his husband about it as they were sitting in the sofa together.

 “I don't like this neighborhood, when are we moving?” Chanyeol muttered, closing his eyes as Baekhyun ran his fingers through the taller’s hair, trying to comfort his husband.

 “We can move whenever you feel like it,” Baekhyun mumbled, smiling slightly as Chanyeol looked over at him. “I think this neighborhood is not really ready for us, and it might make hiding a bit harder than I thought… I would actually prefer moving, to lessen the risks.”

 With a sigh, Chanyeol once more closed his eyes, leaning his forehead against Baekhyun’s.

 “Then we need to find a new place, and move everything… Let’s not forget to ask Jongdae to help out this time.”

 “Help out? He should do it all on his own, as a payback for walking in on us,” Baekhyun snorted, and it made Chanyeol crack a small smile, finally. “I’ll get on looking for a new place tomorrow, but today I just want to spend time together with you… I’ve missed you.”

 Pulling Baekhyun into an embrace, Chanyeol poured all of himself into showing his husband just how much he had missed him as well.

 

~*~

 

 After a few weeks, Baekhyun managed to find a rather large apartment in the city, closer to his work and in a neighborhood with more younger people that would hopefully be more accepting of them. A week after that, Chanyeol, Baekhyun and Jongdae began to load all of the furniture and pre-packed boxes into the borrowed moving truck; for the second time taking Chanyeol and Baekhyun to their new home.

 It was a bit bittersweet, leaving their first home behind. After all, a lot of new memories had been created in it, but Chanyeol also felt excited to make even more in their new place. And to get away from the horrible lady as well. She had really managed to get beneath Chanyeol’s skin, and he had completely ignored her the few times they had run into each other during the weeks leading up to the move. Baekhyun was still cordial to her, but nothing more than that.

 “I mean, we’re living in 2017! You would think people should have started to accept that everyone is different, but I guess some are still stuck in the middle ages!” Jongdae loudly complained as they carried boxed. He was playing it up a lot, for the lady who was most probably spying on them moving, but Chanyeol felt grateful anyway. It was like a small revenge, and he hoped she might think twice the next time she came across a gay couple.

 After all, love was love.

 “Yeah, and I mean, it’s not like it was Chanyeol’s dick I fell in love with!” Baekhyun joined in, and Chanyeol stumbled as he tried to get to the truck, almost falling over in shock. “It was his personality! I don’t care about his gender, as long as he has a nice personality, and that’s the important part!”

 Jongdae was grinning widely as he joined the red-faced Chanyeol by the truck, and Chanyeol knew the other agent was having the time of his life. Thankfully, they were almost done, and Baekhyun did not have another chance to shout anything more about Chanyeol’s genitals, though Jongdae managed to squeeze in a few more words.

 The apartment was large and spacey, and with quite the amazing view. More modern than their previous house, which was the most obvious in the kitchen.

 “Holy shit! You can get ice cubes directly from the door!” Jongdae exclaimed in amazement as they walked around and checked the place out, before moving all of the stuff up. “That’s some cool high tech shit!”

 Thankfully, the house being so newly constructed meant that there was an elevator for them to use to get everything up to the new apartment, and they did not need to break their backs trying to get furniture up several flights of stairs.

 After everything was in the new apartment, the moving truck was returned, and some celebratory food had been ordered and eaten, Jongdae said his goodbyes and left the husbands on their own.

 “Are you regretting giving life with me a chance yet?” Baekhyun hummed as he back-hugged his husband, who were throwing the empty food cartons into the trash. “We can never really be stationary anywhere for a long time…”

 Chanyeol frowned as he rinsed his hands, drying them off before turning around in Baekhyun’s embrace.

 “I was the one who asked if we could move again, Baek,” Chanyeol said, wrapping his arms loosely around his husband’s shoulders. “I’ll never regret you, neither now nor later. Home is where your heart is, and you own my heart.”

 Baekhyun gave a lopsided grin at that, eyes still a bit hesitant.

 “You’re so cheesy…”

 “But you love it,” Chanyeol answered, grinning as well. “Now, let’s get down to business. We’re in our new apartment, and Jongdae finally left…”

 The sparkling mischievousness wiped all of the hesitancy away, and Baekhyun’s grin grew into a smirk as his hands traveled down to cup Chanyeol’s behind.

 “My, my, I might have awoken a monster…,” he murmured, voice all husky, and Chanyeol felt warmth explode in his chest and sip downwards. “What happened to my shy husband who blushed at the suggestion of consecrating our new house, huh?”

 “Hey, I blushed at the suggestion of making our homophobic neighbor hear me scream in pleasure,” Chanyeol argued, feeling some warmth paint across his cheeks as well.

 “Yeah, the walls are thicker here, I don’t think I can make you scream loud enough…,” Baekhyun said, sighing as if it was unfortunate, before something dark flashed past in his eyes and made Chanyeol’s stomach drop. “But… How about pushing you up against the glass and making the entire city see just how well you take me?”

 “ _Byun Baekhyun! Never ever in a million years!_ ” Chanyeol screeched, pushing his laughing husband away. “How can you even suggest something like that?!”

 Undeterred, Baekhyun pulled Chanyeol closer by the belt loops, smirking in that way that made Chanyeol’s heart skip a beat or two.

 “Just wanted to see that pretty blush across your face again,” Baekhyun breathed against Chanyeol’s lips as he got up on the tips of his toes, disregarding their height differences completely. “Don’t worry, though, I’m way too selfish to do anything like that. I’ll let them hear you scream and moan my name, but never will I ever let anyone else set eyes on your naked body. It’s all for me…”

 And Chanyeol was helpless to Baekhyun’s charm, readily being pulled under and drowned. But Baekhyun’s kisses was all Chanyeol would ever need, reviving him and breathing new life into him. And as the night turned into morning, Chanyeol was pretty sure that their neighbors had heard them both rather well, but it did not bother him in the least as he drifted off to sleep with Baekhyun snoring lightly in his arms; both exhausted yet blissful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaah, hopefully we're starting the real conflict next chapter, everything is pretty much set up for it, so yay! And hope you liked this little holiday treat~!


	10. Chapter X

 Chanyeol had had an idea for a while now. Maybe it was a stupid idea, but he just could not let go of it. So the next time Baekhyun went away for a few days, Chanyeol decided to fuck it all, and just do it. Complete with Shia LaBeouf’s motivational moves, done as he faced the large mirror hiding the closet in their bedroom.

 After having finished motivating himself, Chanyeol headed outside. Writing the address into his phone, he let his GPS take him to where he needed to go, whistling to himself as he strolled down the sidewalk.

 It was not until he was actually standing outside of the glass door that his enthusiasm died down a little, the whistling quieting as he swallowed hard. Because Chanyeol was nervous, and he just realized _how_ nervous he actually was.

 He wished Baekhyun could be here to hold his hand and gently coax him inside, but unfortunately, he was not, so Chanyeol had to take matters into his own hands. And the reason he was here was partially because of Baekhyun as well - a sort of surprise for his husband.

 Taking a deep breath, Chanyeol hoped it would not hurt as badly as last time, before he pumped himself up and bravely opened the door and headed inside.

 

 Baekhyun was tired, and immensely so. It had been a rough couple of days, and all he wanted was to collapse into his own bed, and let Chanyeol pamper him with kisses and love.

 So when his husband did not greet him with a large grin and a passionate kiss, but a bashful and anxious smile and a quick peck, Baekhyun’s mood plummeted even more. He knew something was wrong, and he unfortunately did not really have the patience for it right now.

 “What did you do?” Baekhyun asked Chanyeol, the corners of his lips turning down even more. “Chanyeol…”

 Chanyeol fidgeted a little with the long sleeves of his hoodie, before he looked at Baekhyun with pleading puppy eyes.

 “Don’t be upset at me, let me just tell you that it’s something I did for you. As a surprise for you, I mean. To show you how much I love you, sort of. It’s part of a bigger thing, like a life thing for me, and you’re a big part of my life, you know-”

 “Stop rambling and just tell me,” Baekhyun muttered, tiredly rubbing the bridge of his nose. “I’m too tired to get angry, get on with it.”

 “You say that now,” Chanyeol muttered, but as Baekhyun pinned him with a hard stare, partially proving Chanyeol’s point, Chanyeol took a deep breath and rolled his sleeve up, thrusting his arm out towards Baekhyun.

 Silence reigned in the apartment, as Baekhyun stood staring - speechless - at Chanyeol’s arm, and Chanyeol was way too cowardly to even open his eyes to gauge his husband’s reaction.

 Eventually, though, the silence became too much, and Chanyeol carefully peeked an eye open.

 Baekhyun was standing completely still, eyes twice their size, as he just stared at the black and grey linework on Chanyeol’s arm. He seemed to be in a daze, and Chanyeol hoped and wished it was a good kind of daze.

 To be honest, Chanyeol felt rather proud over his new tattoo. It was a simple design, yet striking and elegant in its simplicity - an abstract guitar. Music was such a big part of his life, and he had wanted a piece to symbolize that for a long time. But after he met Baekhyun, and went through a whirlwind romance ending with a marriage, Chanyeol had finally been able to decide what the piece would be.

 The two circles making up the body of the guitar could also be seen as moons - moons for his one and only muse, the light in the dark.

 Baekhyun.

 “I know you’re always there, even if I can’t always see you, and you’re like a comforting presence in my heart even when you’re away,” Chanyeol mumbled, smiling softly as he ran his fingers oh so gently over his inked skin, not wanting to irritate the tattoo, but unable to not touch. “Even when the night seems dark, you’ll shine your light on my path and show me the way. We got here so quickly, but it feels so right I can’t help but feel this was meant to be. You’re one of the most important things to me, it’s you and my music.”

 A strangled sob caught Chanyeol off guard, and he looked up in surprise to find tears running down Baekhyun’s cheeks.

 “Baek, are you crying?” Chanyeol stammered, thought it was very obvious that yes, his husband was crying. Cupping the older’s face, Chanyeol tried to wipe the tears away, but it was too much even for his thumbs. “Why are you crying? Are you hurting?”

 Baekhyun gave a half-hysteric laugh, a wobbly smile on his lips as he shook his head.

 “You’re… You’re too goddamn cute, Park Chanyeol!” Baekhyun exclaimed, his voice all messy. “And a big cheese ball, the biggest cheese ball! I’m not hurting, I’m crying over how lovable and adorable you are.”

 “Oh,” Chanyeol said, a hesitant smile on his lips. “So, you’re not mad at me…?”

 “That you got a tattoo? What, no, of course not? You’re an adult, a grown-ass man, you can do whatever you want!” Baekhyun said, pulling Chanyeol’s right hand away from his face so he could gawk at the tattoo again. “And I’m so incredibly happy it’s a _symbol_ for your love, and not my name… Really, it’s beautiful, Chanyeol. I love it.”

 “And I love you,” Chanyeol could not help but say as he leaned down, and pressed his lips against Baekhyun’s, tasting salt and happiness.

 

 For a moment, all was well yet again. A new home, the same love, and Chanyeol was thriving. He had started to make some more music again, and had decided to do that until he either found something else he wanted to do, or he managed to make a living out of it. Fully supportive of this (“As long as you write me another song every now and then!”), Baekhyun had agreed to turn the guest room into a studio. Whenever Baekhyun was away at missions, Chanyeol would spend most of his time in his new studio, and then spend the rest of his time with his husband whenever he was home.

 A few times, Chanyeol managed to lure Baekhyun into the studio as well, to help with vocals, and Baekhyun showed off his piano skills one lazy afternoon, making Chanyeol marvel over how multi-talented his husband was. Preening under the attention and compliments, Baekhyun seemingly could not stop smiling, and the studio was then properly consecrated.

 ...Properly consecrated a few times, because apparently, Baekhyun found serious producer Loey very sexy. They even accidentally recorded some of the consecrating, which Baekhyun found extremely funny, forcing a promise out of Chanyeol that he would not delete the file, which Chanyeol begrudgingly agreed to.

 But after a few weeks, things started to crumble. And it began one rainy night, after Baekhyun had returned home after a mission.

 Chanyeol had woken up to the loud rumblings of thunder, to find himself being cradled by his husband. Normally, he would not mind this, but Baekhyun had been slightly damp, as if he had been out in the rain and then not changed clothes before getting into bed.

 “Baek?” Chanyeol has rasped out, trying to blink the sleep out of his eyes as he had pulled back, but the grip Baekhyun had on him had stopped him.

 That was when Chanyeol noticed that Baekhyun was trembling.

 Worried, Chanyeol had managed to break out of Baekhyun’s hold, turning the lights on before turning back to the older. He had been so pale, lips pulled into a tight line and a deep frown on his face, eyes so dark even as he refused to look into Chanyeol’s. Baekhyun had also still been in his regular clothes, confirming Chanyeol’s suspicions.

 “Baekhyun? What’s wrong?” Chanyeol asked, cupping Baekhyun’s face, but the older had pulled his head away.

 And really, no one could blame Chanyeol for the thoughts that slowly popped into his mind, even as he tried to force them away. Insecurities found new grounds, but Chanyeol tried to stay level headed.

 “Baekhyun, please talk to me,” Chanyeol pleaded in a low voice, but Baekhyun only rolled himself up into a ball, his hair covering his eyes. “Please, tell me what’s wrong, baby…”

 As nothing seemed to work, barely even his lungs, Chanyeol decided to try other tactics. Getting out of bed, he walked around to the side Baekhyun was lying on, and promptly lifted the other into his arms. Baekhyun’s eyes widened as a gasp left his mouth, but he did not say anything as he clung in fear to Chanyeol.

 Powering on, Chanyeol brought Baekhyun to their bathroom, stepping into their shower and closing the glass door without even putting Baekhyun down. Still holding him, Chanyeol turned the water on, and both of them jerked as the cold water hit them.

 “Chanyeol!” Baekhyun whined, and Chanyeol could not help but smile as his husband _finally_ spoke.

 “Ready to talk to me?” Chanyeol asked, his words a bit unintelligible from how his teeth were clacking together as he trembled, but the water was thankfully starting to heat up.

 Baekhyun looked away, eyes trained on the hand that was gripping Chanyeol’s shoulder, so Chanyeol sighed and plopped his husband down on the ground. Then he began to undress him, throwing the soaked clothes into a pile in the corner, his own boxers also joining it.

 Gently, Chanyeol spun Baekhyun around, and then he took some shampoo and poured it into the older’s hair. Baekhyun seemed a bit tense, so Chanyeol put his all into the scalp massage, and it did not take long before Baekhyun’s head was lolling, one of his hands gripping onto the bar the shower head was mounted on for support. Chanyeol continued his massage down Baekhyun’s neck and shoulder, then down his back, shampoo suds dotting his skin.

 When his thumbs reached the indentations just above Baekhyun’s behind, Chanyeol gently pushed him beneath the jet of water, so that the shampoo would be rinsed out. Chanyeol continued to massage as Baekhyun lazily ran a hand through his hair to get everything out properly.

 “I fucked up,” suddenly came Baekhyun’s voice, so low against the backdrop of running water that Chanyeol was not sure he had heard right. “I fucked up, Chanyeol…”

 Chanyeol pulled Baekhyun back against his chest, wrapping his arms around his husband, and pressed kisses against his shoulder.

 “My mission, I… I got spotted, rookie mistake, and I might… I might have put you in danger…,” Baekhyun mumbled, shaking more and more in Chanyeol’s embrace. “I’m so sorry…”

 “No, stop, don’t,” Chanyeol hushed Baekhyun, kissing his temple. “I was prepared for this, you made sure I knew about the risks and possibilities of being with you. That’s why I’ve been training, right? _If_ something happens, I’m ready for it. I knew what I was signing up for, Baekhyun.”

 “But I-”

 Chanyeol did not let Baekhyun finish, instead spinning the older around in his arms and shutting him up with a deep kiss that had Baekhyun clinging to him.

 “Baekhyun. I knew this was a possibility,” Chanyeol said, staring into Baekhyun’s eyes to try to make him understand how truthful his words were. “I can’t say I’m fully prepared for whatever may come, but I _can_ say that you’ve prepared me enough, at least, to be able to somewhat take care of myself if something happens. So stop moping, and let’s, I don’t know, make a plan or something instead.”

 “Bu-”

 Yet again Chanyeol kissed Baekhyun, interrupting with an even deeper kiss, both of them panting when Chanyeol pulled back.

 “I’ll keep doing that until you stop,” Chanyeol sternly muttered, frowning at Baekhyun who seemed a bit dazed.

 It took half a minute of some intense lip-biting, until Baekhyun finally closed his eyes and sighed, one of his hands sneaking up to tangle into Chanyeol’s hair.

 “I hate how convincing and logical you can be, just distract me for now?”

 And Chanyeol really could not say no to Baekhyun, especially not with the tingling of danger down his spine mingling with the electricity left from the kisses crawling under his skin. And even as the water turned lukewarm, the air around them was still hot enough from their shared love that they did not even notice.

 

 Later, as the storm had died down a little, and Baekhyun was sitting in Chanyeol’s lap, drying the taller’s hair, he spoke up again.

 “I think that at least for now, we’ll just stay low for a while. I might be overreacting, something might not happen, and we’re pretty secure here. Until things blow over and I’m given the clear, I’ll stay at home with you. Hopefully, my slipup was not enough to actually do any harm…”

 Chanyeol hummed as Baekhyun’s fingertips worked magic on his scalp, adding to the bliss he was already feeling and making his entire body feel like jelly.

 “And if all goes to hell…,” Baekhyun said, voice a bit bitter. “Let’s just hope we make it to a safehouse.”

 “Don’t worry about things you can’t control for now,” Chanyeol said, and he was not sure Baekhyun could actually understand him, since he felt like he was slurring from pure pleasure and sleepiness. He moved his hands from Baekhyun’s hips to wrap his arms around the older, lying down and cuddling his husband to his chest, though Baekhyun made a noise of protest. “You’ll just get premature wrinkles. Let’s sleep.”

 And Baekhyun wanted to protest, because this was important stuff, Chanyeol might be in grave danger (and Baekhyun himself was probably in _even greater_ danger, but he had since long accepted that, and it was Chanyeol who mattered the most), and you were not supposed to go to bed with wet hair, but in the end, Baekhyun complied, somehow succeeding in getting Chanyeol to scoot up and beneath the cover.

 “I need you to be extra careful the coming week or so,” Baekhyun mumbled as he pressed his front against Chanyeol’s back, threw an arm over his waist and pressed a kiss against his nape. “I don’t want to lose you because of a stupid mistake…”

 Intertwining their fingers, Chanyeol pulled Baekhyun’s hand closer, placing their ring-clad hands over his heart.

 “You’ll never lose me,” he breathed, just before sleep pulled him under.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After a crazy few weeks, I managed to finish my fest fic in time for deadline, so yay on me! Freedom (for a little while)! I have another deadline in about a month, but that's chill, and Uniniverse bonus round have posted my two fics, which you can find at my works page, yay! Please give a read if you like KaiSoo (the fencing one has side BaekYeol ;))!  
> But yeah, now everything is properly set up for this fic to take a darker and more action-filled turn... Are we excited? I hope so!


	11. Chapter XI

 Chanyeol usually loved having Baekhyun at home - it meant Baekhyun was out of harm’s way and always close - but this time was different from the other times.

 Because Baekhyun was not his normal, happy self. Baekhyun was almost always on the edge, always so watchful, it rubbed off on Chanyeol as well. Chanyeol ended up spending most of his time in his studio, feeling too snappy and not wanting to take it on Baekhyun, though he normally spent almost every waking moment with Baekhyun whenever his husband was home. He tried to pour as much of himself into his music-making as he possibly could, but frustration left him sitting and staring at the walls for hours on end; nothing sounding right, or even good enough.

 To minimize the risk of snipers, their curtains were perpetually closed, leaving no sun to enter. Baekhyun never went far from his cell phone, waiting for Jongdae’s update, though they always came at the same time every day. It was not as if it would matter anyway - if Baekhyun did not pick up, then Jongdae would call Chanyeol, and if Chanyeol did not pick up, somebody would be deployed to check up on them.

 As each day passed without any confirmation that Baekhyun’s identity, and maybe even Chanyeol’s, had been compromised, Chanyeol began to question Baekhyun’s suspicions. He knew that Baekhyun was probably right in his fear of having been discovered, considering he seemed to be a great agent from what Chanyeol knew, but there were still doubts starting to gather and linger. And fester. And Baekhyun’s behavior and Chanyeol holding everything in did not help things.

 Until the day everything finally reached boiling point, and Chanyeol could not take it anymore.

 They were having lunch together, Chanyeol having cooked it in silence as Baekhyun had sat in the sofa, the TV on but muted, eyes more often on his phone than on the TV. Even as they sat down by the table, Baekhyun had stayed silent, eyes glued to the phone screen, barely even eating. And Chanyeol was so done with the silence and the anxiety and the constant fear, even when everything seemed fine.

 “Goddammit, Baekhyun!” Chanyeol exclaimed, slamming his chopsticks down on the table and making his husband jump in his seat. Chanyeol only felt slightly bad about it. “Can you fucking tear your eyes away from your phone for one fucking second? Do you really think both you and I’ll miss Jongdae’s call? There’s been no proof of anything for _days_ , and you need to fucking accept that because I can’t fucking take this anymore!”

 Seemingly shocked into silence, Baekhyun just stared at Chanyeol with wide eyes for a long minute, before Chanyeol sighed and rubbed his eyes, getting up from his seat.

 “I’m sorry, I’ll just-,” Chanyeol mumbled, not finishing his apology, but instead striding over to his studio and locking himself inside.

 Once he had collapsed in his chair, Chanyeol leaned his head back and pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes, feeling the waves wash over him. He was just so tired of it all, of basically living in constant fear when everything was pointing to there being nothing to fear. He partially felt like crying, but partially too exhausted to do anything else than sigh and remain in his current near emotionless state.

 Chanyeol had known that life with Baekhyun would sometimes not be as easy, but he had never expected it would be like this - and he honestly did not know if he could get through much more of this.

 

 Chanyeol had almost fallen asleep in his chair when he heard the lock quietly click open, before the door opened. For half a second he tensed, fear clutching his heart, before his sleepy brain caught up and he realized that Baekhyun had a key to the studio. Not that Baekhyun could not get inside even without the key, but Chanyeol had seen it as a given to let Baekhyun have the other key, thinking that if Baekhyun knew he needed space, Baekhyun would respect that anyway.

 So did Baekhyun not realize he needed some alone time, or was he not respecting Chanyeol’s need for space?

 Chanyeol had not opened his eyes yet, but he felt Baekhyun slowly get closer, until a hand landed on his shoulder. Without even thinking about it, Chanyeol moved away from the hand, finally opening his eyes and glancing over at Baekhyun, who was holding his hand up to his chest. As if Chanyeol’s reaction had burned Baekhyun. Chanyeol’s heart clenched painfully in his chest, but he tried to not show it.

 “I… I’m sorry,” Baekhyun said in a soft voice, eyes trained on the keyboard on Chanyeol’s desk, instead of on Chanyeol himself. “I’ve been too caught up in my worries, and… I’ve obviously taken it out on you. I only wanted to make sure you were protected, but it seems like I turned over-protective, and in the really bad way. I’m sorry. I just can’t lose you. I know it’s not an excuse, but it’s an explanation, and that’s the best I’ve got.”

 Sighing, Chanyeol turned his chair fully towards Baekhyun, reaching out and hating how Baekhyun flinched as he took Baekhyun’s hand and tugged him closer, until Chanyeol could wrap his arms around his husband’s waist.

 “You really need to open up more, Baek,” Chanyeol mumbled against Baekhyun’s shirt, voice muffled from nuzzling so close. “And trust me. Trust is very important. Very much in normal marriages, but even more so in ours, especially when we’re in situations like this.”

 “I do trust you,” Baekhyun mumbled, hands coming up to tangle in Chanyeol’s hair, pulling lightly as Chanyeol snorted. “No, I mean it, I really do trust you. I mean, I got into your bed several times before we even established a relationship, and I let you talk me _into_ a relationship. I’m also pretty sure you’re better at having my back than Jongdae, so there’s that as well… I don’t know why I overreacted like this, this isn’t the first time I’ve been in this kind of situation, but the fact that I might have dragged you into it… I guess it just triggered me into becoming this mess. I’m sorry.”

 Chanyeol hummed against Baekhyun, feeling his muscles clench. “Hm, I mean, I’m not sure I’d let Jongdae have my back either, he seems too reckless for that… But I’m glad you feel like you can trust me with that. After all, we’ve not known each other for long, and our relationship has nothing on yours and Jongdae’s lengthwise.”

 “Sweetheart, I promise, you’re both longer and thicker than him. In all ways,” Baekhyun said, a note of teasing in his voice that had Chanyeol smiling.

 “I’m not even going to ask how you know that, but great, my ego is inflating,” Chanyeol chuckled. “And please don’t make that into another dirty joke.”

 Chanyeol could feel the low chuckle against his face, but it was a bit too silent and a bit too hesitating, as well as the fingers in his hair. Tilting his head back, Chanyeol gazed up at Baekhyun, a soft yet sad smile on his husband’s lips.

 “I’m really sorry, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun whispered, voice trembling just slightly, just like his fingers ghosting across Chanyeol’s face.

 “Apology accepted,” Chanyeol murmured, taking a hold of one of Baekhyun’s hands and pressing a kiss against the palm. “As long as you promise to try to never do it again.”

 Baekhyun nodded as he let Chanyeol pull him down, straddling the taller’s lap.

 “I don’t have any intentions of letting this happen ever again, but if it does, I promise to try my best,” Baekhyun said, free hand caressing Chanyeol’s cheek. “You have been doing great with your training, so I should give you more credit. You’re as well-equipped as you probably could be, and I promise to try to remember that.”

 Chanyeol could not help the small smirk as he nibbled at Baekhyun’s fingers.

 “I _am_ very well-equipped, that’s true,” Chanyeol boasted, making Baekhyun purse his lips - but there was a shadow of a smile on them.

 “It’s not as funny when you brag about yourself, Chanyeol-ah,” Baekhyun said, going for a stern voice, but there was too much humor there for it to be completely successful.

 “But you know I’m not bragging though, baby,” Chanyeol breathed as he leaned closer to Baekhyun, their faces so close they almost went cross-eyed as they tried to keep eye contact.

 “Make up sex?” Baekhyun asked, glancing to the side. “In the studio?”

 “Nu-uh, I’m not giving you another opportunity to record us, ain’t happening,” Chanyeol muttered as he put his hands beneath Baekhyun’s butt, and stood up.

 The smirk on Baekhyun’s lips was positively predatory, and did strange things to Chanyeol’s stomach - and manhood.

 “I know you like the recordings, Chanyeol-ah… I’m sure you listen to them when you’re home alone, missing me, and needs to get off… You listen to the recordings, probably blasting them loud in there, and getting off to them…”

 Chanyeol almost dropped Baekhyun as he stumbled, halfway down the hallway, cheeks on fire. Baekhyun began to cackle, but as Chanyeol pressed him up against the wall and began to kiss him, Baekhyun quickly exchanged laughter for moans.

 It was a hot mess, clothes trailing into the bedroom as demanding hands near tore them off. All the frustration and fear from the last few days was replaced by a scorching need, and they both easily gave in to it.

 Consumed by the fire, it took them a while to realize that Baekhyun’s phone was ringing. Groaning, Baekhyun pushed at Chanyeol, but Chanyeol did not move away.

 “Let it ring,” Chanyeol huskily whispered against Baekhyun’s neck, his husband arching against him.

 “It’s Jongdae,” Baekhyun managed to pant out, Chanyeol ruthlessly marking his throat, “checking up on us. I _need_ to answer!”

 Growling a little, Chanyeol somehow managed to get up into a kneeling position without slipping out of Baekhyun, and began looking around for whatever piece of clothing that held the (damn) phone. Identifying Baekhyun’s pants close by, Chanyeol reached for them, making a noise of triumph when he got a hold of them and fished the phone out, then handed it to Baekhyun.

 Baekhyun quickly accepted it and answered, and Chanyeol finally realized what a feast that was lying sprawled out in front of him. Face and neck flushed, chest rapidly rising and falling, stomach clenched and showing of his abs even more than normal… And the hard length dribbling down on top of them, making Chanyeol twitch and bite his lips, Baekhyun jolting a little and slapping a hand over his mouth to muffle the moan.

 An idea forming in his mind, Chanyeol tilted his head as his gaze continued down, to where they were joined. Putting his hands on the back of Baekhyun’s thighs and completely ignoring the questioning look his husband was giving him, Chanyeol pushed Baekhyun’s legs down, until he was almost folded in two. Slowly pulling out and then slowly pushing inside again, Chanyeol watched in fascination.

 It was not the first time he had seen something like this, of course not, but never before had he taken the time to actually _look_ , and admire it a little bit. Baekhyun really did take him well, and that thought along with the visual had Chanyeol choke a little as arousal flared even brighter in his chest. As well as love. But that was always there.

 It was not until he felt a hand close around his wrist, nails digging into his skin, that Chanyeol snapped out of the trance Baekhyun’s behind had put him in. Glancing up, Chanyeol was met by Baekhyun looking like half a mess, obviously straining to sound as normal as possible and not moan into the phone.

 They were basically having semi-public sex, and that thought really should not fire Chanyeol on as much as it did, but Chanyeol was on a roll now, unable - and not wanting - to stop.

 Letting go of Baekhyun’s legs, he gave his husband a moment to breathe and try to calm himself down, before Chanyeol lied down on top of Baekhyun again. Since he was still on his knees, it forced Baekhyun to pull his legs back into almost the same position as they had been before, and it made Chanyeol wonder how well he could hit Baekhyun’s prostate like this.

 He should probably try to find out.

 Baekhyun allowed Chanyeol to snake his arms around him, probably thinking the taller wanted to cuddle as he waited for the call to be over, but Chanyeol had other plans. Keeping Baekhyun in place, Chanyeol began to mouth his way up and down Baekhyun’s neck, all the way from below his ear to his collarbone, feeling Baekhyun tense up against him, squeezing around him. It made Chanyeol have to close his eyes, biting down on Baekhyun’s skin, as he tried to calm down.

 Bad move, though, as Baekhyun’s neck was very sensitive - and he very much enjoyed both getting bitten and lovebites. The clenching increased, and Chanyeol felt Baekhyun twitch against his stomach, Baekhyun’s free hand coming up to rake down Chanyeol’s back. That would surely leave marks...

 “Chanyeol, stop!” Baekhyun hissed, but Chanyeol only smirked against his skin.

 Jongdae was saying something over the line, but Chanyeol was not focusing enough on him to hear what it was, and not really caring either. He was having fun with Baekhyun, why would he want to focus on Jongdae?

 “Chanyeol is doing nothing,” Baekhyun answered, the threat clear in his voice, yet Chanyeol…

 Chanyeol wanted to play. So Chanyeol continued to play, ignoring the threat.

 Almost painfully slow, Chanyeol pulled out and pressed inside, and as Baekhyun’s nails dug into his back, Chanyeol found out that yes, he was indeed hitting Baekhyun’s prostate very well. So Chanyeol continued with the slow thrusting, Baekhyun starting to jolt against him and moving in a way that reminded him of waves.

 And when Chanyeol managed to get his hand up to fist into the hair at the back of Baekhyun’s head, the older simply could not hold it in anymore, whimpering before quickly ending the call and throwing his phone somewhere.

 “What the fuck?” Baekhyun mumbled, moaning as Chanyeol yet again pushed inside and brushed against his prostate. “What the actual _fuck_? What happened to my shy husband?”

 “You ruined him,” Chanyeol answered, licking over the small marks he had left on Baekhyun’s skin. “Pulled him down into debauchery. Left him frustrated and annoyed for like a week.”

 “I’m still very sorry about that, and I’ll let you do whatever to make up for it,” Baekhyun groaned, arching even more against Chanyeol. “Just, _please_ , start moving properly!”

 Chuckling darkly, Chanyeol sat back up, pulling Baekhyun basically into his lap, hands on his husband’s hips. Making sure to keep Baekhyun pressed against him, Chanyeol then got up on his knees, pulling Baekhyun with him and making him gasp.

 “Have you been watching porn or something?” Baekhyun spluttered, moaning as Chanyeol grinded against him. “I don’t know where this is coming from, but _holy shit_ I don’t mind in the least!”

 Chanyeol laughed a bit breathlessly, adjusting his grip on Baekhyun and making sure that the shorter had firmly planted his feet on the mattress. As soon as he was sure that they (hopefully) would not injure themselves, Chanyeol fulfilled Baekhyun’s plea and began to move in earnest.

 Arms outstretched and hands fisted into the sheets, Baekhyun’s voice rose in strength as he prettily arched his back even more, erection bobbing with every thrust. The muscles of his abdomen clenched and unclenched, rippling, and Chanyeol was entranced by it.

 But when Baekhyun began making little strangled noises, obviously having trouble breathing properly, Chanyeol slowed down and sat down yet again, going back to grinding instead of thrusting. It was obvious that Baekhyun was frustrated from the way that he was trying to lift himself up and drop down again, fingers digging into the flesh of Chanyeol’s thighs.

 “Chan- _fuck_ \- Chanyeol!” Baekhyun barked out, so tense that the muscles and tendons of his neck stood out in relief beneath his skin. “For _fucks_ sake! Stop fucking around!”

 It took great willpower to force himself to speak, and when he managed, Chanyeol’s voice was so dark and raspy he did not know if Baekhyun would be able to understand him.

 “You want me to stop?” Chanyeol asked, receiving a furious shake of Baekhyun’s head that had him smirking. Releasing Baekhyun’s hips and leaning back on his hands, Chanyeol tilted his head to the side. “As punishment, _you_ can do all the work.”

 Whimpering, Baekhyun whined out something unintelligible, but after moving his legs a little, he began to move. It was obvious that it was straining, but Baekhyun had a pair of glorious thighs, and with the position they were in, Baekhyun felt even tighter around Chanyeol.

 It did not take long before Chanyeol let his head loll back, starting to give small thrusts upwards to meet each and every of Baekhyun’s drops, and soon they were panting and moaning in symphony. When he felt himself hovering dangerously close to the edge, Chanyeol took pity on his husband, and reached over to wrap a hand around Baekhyun’s manhood. Thrusting into Chanyeol’s hand and then dropping down onto his length, Baekhyun was quickly reduced to a trembling mess, racing towards his own edge.

 With a choked-out curse, Baekhyun spilled across Chanyeol’s hand, clenching almost painfully around Chanyeol and setting off his orgasm as well. Completely blissed out, Chanyeol could not stop his hips from giving stuttering thrusts, needing that friction throughout the entire moment to perfect it.

 Groaning and shuddering, Chanyeol finally came to a stop and leaned forwards, trying to catch his breath, noticing how Baekhyun’s fingers were trying to pry him off of his quickly wilting erection.

 “Sorry,” Chanyeol managed to gasp out as he released his grip, and Baekhyun seemed to be able to breathe a little bit easier.

 “Don’t be, it was amazing,” Baekhyun panted, relaxing his muscles and slowly sinking down onto the mattress, the both of them shivering as Chanyeol slipped out. “Just a bit over-sensitive is all…”

 Chanyeol grunted as he collapsed onto his side, Baekhyun’s knee painfully digging into his ribs.

 They lay in silence for a while as they tried to recover, one of Chanyeol’s hands on the inside of Baekhyun’s thigh, and one of Baekhyun’s hands on Chanyeol’s arm.

 “You know, if you’re going to pull stunts like that more often, I’d let you dick me more,” Baekhyun suddenly said, voice a breathy chuckle that had thousands of butterflies fluttering inside of Chanyeol’s belly.

 Whining, Chanyeol rolled off of Baekhyun’s leg and onto his side, back towards his husband. Bursting out laughing fully, Baekhyun scooted over, slinging an arm and a leg over Chanyeol’s side as the taller covered his face with both hands.

 “I’m still amazed by how shy you can be, Chanyeollie,” Baekhyun purred as he peppered Chanyeol’s hands and neck with feather-light kisses that had Chanyeol squirming. “ _Especially_ after fucking me so well. Where did my domination husband go?”

 “He died, my innocence fought him and managed to kill him,” Chanyeol muttered, voice distorted by his hands, prompting a chuckle from Baekhyun.

 “Aw, that’s a shame, I rather liked him. Hope we can revive him in the future…,” Baekhyun murmured, his low voice making Chanyeol’s stomach clench.

 “I’m surprised by how quickly _you_ can go from worried and closed off, to horny and uncaring,” Chanyeol shot back, ignoring how whiny he sounded. Baekhyun ceased his kiss attack, and Chanyeol immediately regretted bringing it up as Baekhyun moved away from him.

 Then Baekhyun’s hand was on his arm, pulling him onto his back, and Chanyeol peeked through his fingers to find Baekhyun smiling softly down at him.

 “I’m still worried, Chanyeol, I’m just trying to… I don’t know, relax a little, be a bit more open,” Baekhyun said with a shrug, clearly trying to hold back a smirk. “Like my asshole right now.”

 Screeching, Chanyeol pushed Baekhyun down onto his back, covering the naughty mouth with a hand. And even as the sounds was muffled, it was easy to hear that Baekhyun’s laugh was high-pitched, in that almost panicked kind of way, tears starting to gather in his eyes and making them sparkle even brighter.

 After they had both calmed down a little, Baekhyun gave Chanyeol’s palm a lick, making the taller quickly retract his hand and wipe it against the sheet. Baekhyun raised a brow at it, but said nothing.

 “You know…,” Baekhyun began, reaching up to push Chanyeol’s hair out of his eyes. “I’ve missed this. I know it’s my fault, but I’ve truly missed this. And I’m not even talking about the sex - okay, a little - but just being close to you, teasing and laughing, just _being_.”

 Lying down, Chanyeol cupped Baekhyun’s cheek, watching his husband’s eyelids flutter close, entire body relaxing even further into the mattress, as if flooded by relief.

 “I’m not going to address the subject of faults, but I’ve missed it as well,” Chanyeol whispered, leaning closer to place a chaste kiss on Baekhyun’s lips. “Missed _you_. Let’s try to never do it again, okay? I’ll try to not keep things in until I explode, and you’ll try to be a bit more open with your worries.”

 “Deal,” Baekhyun sighed softly, cuddling up closer against Chanyeol. “Now hold me close and let me doze off until the trickling becomes too nasty and we need to shower.”

 Chanyeol groaned, but complied even as his cheeks were burning hotly.

 

 As if things were not already complicated, Chanyeol received a call from his sister the day after his and Baekhyun’s reconciliation sex. They had not talked during the last few years, and the shock of the sudden call left Chanyeol sitting and staring at his phone long after the call had ended.

 “What is it, baby?” Baekhyun asked as he sat down next to Chanyeol in the sofa, offering Chanyeol the bottle of water that he was holding.

 “My… My sister just called,” Chanyeol mumbled as he declined the water, feeling more than seeing Baekhyun go stiff next to him.

 Baekhyun knew about Chanyeol’s family situation - had known since early in their relationship, actually, since Chanyeol had had a tendency to overshare, even back when Baekhyun was barely sharing anything. Chanyeol might be a bit too open, but he regretted nothing. Just like everything else with Baekhyun.

 “Why?” Baekhyun asked, hesitation and apprehension clear in his voice.

 Chanyeol looked down at his husband to find him frowning, realizing that they were probably mirroring each other.

 “She wants to meet up. Tomorrow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeeey, y'all, I'm back! Finally, lol... So, it's been like three chapters since I gave you any smut, so here you are. Some... Naughtier stuff. If you wonder what kind of sex position they're doing, just google 'arched guard sex position', scroll down the image results a little, and you'll get the gay version of it. It's the same as the straight version, of course, but... For better imagination? Would post link, but no idea how HTML works and thus it'd be a long link here...  
> Anyway; yes, Chanyeol indeed does listen to their recordings when home alone, and indeed does get off to them. And of course Baekhyun knows. He would totally do the same! And yes, Baekhyun is also pretty into the whole 'on the phone whilst getting dicked', but since it's a semi-important call, he wanted to get the information before getting back to business. He would also easily be able to stop Chanyeol had he really wanted to, we've already seen him whoop Chanyeol's ass a few times.  
> So, what do you think about the whole sister cliffhanger? Do you think it's a trap? A try to fix their ruined relationship? Something else? It's been mentioned before (quite sassily to the old lady) that Chanyeol's relationship with his family is not the best. At all. His parents doesn't really want anything to do with him, and his sister sort of just followed along them. Poor Chanyeollie :< but at least he has Baekhyun now!  
> Uuuuh, please leave a comment, talk to me, I love getting comments ;-; follow me on Twitter @tdragon_ or just talk to me there, it also contains links to my CC, Tumblr and Instagram, as well as my Aeriverse~


	12. Chapter XII

 To say that Chanyeol was nervous was an understatement. But it was not the thought that it might be a trap that made him the most anxious - no, it was the fact that he was on his way to meet his sister.

 Ever since his parents had more or less thrown him out and told him they wanted nothing to do with him, Chanyeol had spoken with his sister only a handful of times. She did not completely agree with their parents’ decision, but neither did she try to fight it. And that was the reason for why Chanyeol did not try to keep in contact with her anymore.

 “Hey, are you okay?” Baekhyun gently asked, putting a hand on Chanyeol’s thigh as he kept his eyes on the road. “We can still turn around and go home?”

 Taking a deep breath, Chanyeol shook his head, picking Baekhyun’s hand up and squeezing it.

 “No, I… I need to see her. It’s been a long time now,” Chanyeol mumbled, and Baekhyun glanced over at him, before he nodded, not saying a word.

 Chanyeol was thankful for the silent support, knowing that Baekhyun did not like this at all. After everything that had happened - and even though there had been no signs of anything wrong - Baekhyun was still worried about having been discovered. This was the first time that either of them was outside in a little over a week, and Baekhyun was probably as anxious as Chanyeol, just about other things.

 But Jongdae had been informed, knowing that they would be going out, and to send a team for them immediately if they requested it, and that was calming both Baekhyun and Chanyeol down at least a little bit. Even if it did turn into a mess, hopefully it would not be _too_ much of a mess.

 A shiver went through Chanyeol as he thought about his sister ending up in the middle of it all, hoping, wishing and praying that nothing would happen. Just some talking, then going their separate way, and that would be it. Baekhyun’s grip on Chanyeol’s hand tightened as he felt Chanyeol shiver, but he did not question it. He probably had an inkling to what it might be.

 All too soon, they were at the closest parking lot to the café they had decided on, and then Baekhyun had parked. After unbuckling, Baekhyun turned to Chanyeol, who was clenching and unclenching his hands.

 “I’m not going to convince you to go home,” Baekhyun began, voice no more than a whisper, as he once more placed a hand on Chanyeol’s thigh. “But you know that it at any point you want to leave, we can. I’m worried about something happening, yes, but I’m even more worried about your sister and what she might say or do. She’s basically taken your parents’ side in this all, and I really hope she has reconsidered things, but… We both know how it can be.”

 Deflating a little, Chanyeol let his head fall back against the seat, nodding and swallowing the lump in his throat. Because he was hoping, but he also knew just as well as Baekhyun how people had a tendency to _not_ change their opinion on the subject of sexuality.

 But Yoora was family? And family was supposed to love you no matter what, blood is after all thicker than water?

 Taking yet another deep breath, Chanyeol patted Baekhyun’s hand and unbuckled himself.

 “Let’s get this over with,” he said, giving a smile he hoped was cheerful. But considering the slightly worried look Baekhyun gave him, Chanyeol guessed it was not.

 

 Even though Chanyeol had not actually seen his sister in a few years, it was easy to spot her in the mellow café. After all, she looked like the female version of him, and himself he saw everyday in the mirror.

 “Wow, you really do look like each other,” Baekhyun mumbled from behind him, and Chanyeol gave a chuckle beneath his breath.

 It was not only once that they had been confused for twins, especially in their childhood.

 As they got closer, Yoora looked up from her phone, standing up as soon as she spotted Chanyeol. Smoothing out the wrinkles in the clothes and fidgeting, she looked about as nervous as Chanyeol felt. Somehow, that was relieving to Chanyeol, to know he was not the only one.

 “Channie,” Yoora whispered as they arrived by her table, a soft smile on her lips, and all of a sudden, Chanyeol felt like a teenager again. She sounded and looked just the same, just like she had back when his family still loved and accepted him.

 Tears pooling in his eyes, Chanyeol stepped into his sister’s offered embrace, screwing his eyes shut to try to hold his tears back. If he started crying now, he suspected he would not be able to stop.

 After a while, they released each other, and Chanyeol noticed how Yoora discreetly tried to brush a few tears of her own away. It made his heart go all soft and fluffy.

 Then Chanyeol saw his sister look to his side, head tilting just slightly, and he remembered that Baekhyun was behind him.

 “Ah, sorry, got a bit swept away,” Chanyeol mumbled, clearing his throat as he motioned between his sister and his husband. “Baekhyun, this is my sister Yoora. Yoora, this is Baekhyun, my husband.”

 “Nice to meet you, Yoora,” Baekhyun said softly, a boyishly handsome smile on his face as he gave a bow, and Chanyeol felt as if he was falling for the other yet again.

 Glancing over at his sister, though, Chanyeol felt his heart start to creep up into his throat, because it was impossible to miss how her already large eyes were widened. But at least she managed to give a bow and a small smile back, fingers nervously intertwined.

 “Nice to meet you, too,” Yoora said, voice a little too neutral to feel completely honest, but at least she was being polite.

 That was more than Chanyeol could ever hope for if he ever introduced Baekhyun to his parents. Just the thought of that made Chanyeol feel a bit faint.

 “Please, sit down,” Yoora then hurried to say, motioning towards the chairs standing opposite the one she had been sitting on. Chanyeol moved to sit down, but as he noticed that Baekhyun was not doing the same, he looked up at his husband with a questioning look.

 “I’ll go order for us, give you some one on one time,” Baekhyun said with another soft smile, but Chanyeol could still see the way worry dimmed the stars in his eyes.

 Nodding, Chanyeol thanked Baekhyun, and then his husband was walking away through the crowd again.

 “He seems… Nice,” Yoora said, bringing back Chanyeol’s attention to her. She was turning her phone over and over in her hands, before putting it into her bag and clearing her throat.

 “Yeah, he is,” Chanyeol said, unable to keep the small smile from his lips. ‘Nice’ did not really cover all that Baekhyun was, but Chanyeol figured that ‘amazing, glorious, handsome, sweet and magnificent’ might be a bit over the top for Yoora.

 “Channie, I…,” Yoora stuttered, and Chanyeol looked back at her to find her chewing on her lower lip. “I wanted to meet you to convince you to come home. Please. I miss you, and mom and dad do too. Just stop this acting up and come home?”

 Taken aback, Chanyeol could not make his mouth form any words. They wanted him to come home? They thought he was acting up? Did they actually still think that his homosexuality was a phase?

 Before Chanyeol managed to gather himself enough to give a reply, Baekhyun returned. As he was setting down a cup in front of Chanyeol, he quickly scanned his face, and Chanyeol knew that he noticed that something was wrong. Chanyeol was pretty sure that he was frowning, after all, but Baekhyun was trained in seeing details and body language, and that included facial and microexpressions.

 As Baekhyun sat down next to Chanyeol, he placed a hand on his shoulder, as if to support himself, whilst at the same time giving Chanyeol’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze. They were here together, and they could leave whenever they wanted to. Chanyeol just had to remember that.

 “Yoora… I’m not acting up. This isn’t some kind of teenage rebellion,” Chanyeol carefully said, seeing in the corner of his eye how Baekhyun stiffened at his words. “I’m gay and happily married, and I’m going to stay that way. Even if you and mom and dad doesn’t accept me for who I am, Baekhyun does, and that’s all I need.”

 Feeling a hand on his thigh, Chanyeol placed his own over it and interlaced their fingers. Supportive, always so supportive, and that was one of the things Chanyeol loved about Baekhyun.

 “But, you’re not married,” Yoora blurted out, making Chanyeol sigh as he lifted his left hand and looked down at the ring wrapped around his ring finger.

 “No, we’re not, you’re right. South Korea doesn’t acknowledge our marriage. But that doesn’t make it any less real for us. We’re partners for life, no matter what anybody else say.”

 Just as Yoora opened her mouth to say something, Baekhyun’s hand clenched painfully around Chanyeol’s, before releasing.

 “Chanyeol, get down!” Baekhyun roared as he got up and threw himself towards Yoora, pulling her to the floor. And even though Chanyeol had never been in any dangerous situation, especially not with Baekhyun, he immediately threw himself to the side and down onto the floor, obeying without a doubt.

 A second went past, just enough for Chanyeol to start to wonder what was going on. Then a too-loud sound was heard, something Chanyeol recognized, though he had never heard it without protection on before.

 Glass shattered and people screamed as a storm of bullets was let loose. Chanyeol quickly scrambled behind their table that had been overturned, sliding down as much as he could to avoid getting shot, as Baekhyun dragged Yoora behind the table as well.

 Hunkered down, on one knee, Baekhyun reached behind his back and pulled two guns out, and even though they were currently in the middle of a gunfight, Chanyeol could not help but appreciate how hot Agent Byun was looking in that moment.

 Until Baekhyun handed Chanyeol one of the guns and his phone. Apprehensively, Chanyeol reached out and accepted the objects, the gun heavy in his hand.

 “Call Jongdae,” Baekhyun ordered, and Chanyeol nodded as he unlocked the phone, blessing the fact that they had added each other’s fingerprints to their phones, because Chanyeol was currently unable to remember the pin, too much going on around him.

 “What’s going on? Why are they shooting? Why do you have a gun?!” came Yoora’s panicked voice from next to him, and Chanyeol looked over at his sister as he pressed the phone to his ear. “Are you involved with the mafia?!”

 Even over the gunshots, Chanyeol could hear Baekhyun give a strained chuckle, and he himself could not keep from giving a tight-lipped smile, remembering how he had come to the same conclusion before Baekhyun had told him everything.

 “Hello?” Jongdae said as the call was picked up, voice a bit bored.

 “Jongdae,” Chanyeol breathed out, voice rough from tension.

 “Chanyeol? What’s going on?” Jongdae asked, immediately switching to serious agent mode. “Am I hearing bullets?”

 “Yeah, we need help,” Chanyeol mumbled, looking over just in time to see Baekhyun taking advantage of the pause in bullets raining down, getting up and firing off a few shots as well. Chanyeol was totally and completely blaming the adrenaline for the flaring attraction he felt for his husband, trying to push down the instinct to squeal over how _cool_ he was.

 “Already deployed a team, Baekhyun sent me the address earlier, they should be there in a few minutes,” Jongdae reported, and Chanyeol forwarded the information to Baekhyun who had just ducked down again.

 “Just have to survive for a little bit longer, then,” Baekhyun muttered. “Give the phone to Yoora, Jongdae know how to take care of traumatized people. I need you focused on keeping them away for long enough to get us extracted.”

 “Jongdae, I’m leaving my sister in your care now,” Chanyeol said into the phone, getting an affirmative before handing the phone over to his trembling and terrified sister.

 “Chanyeol, what’s happening?” Yoora whispered to him as she clutched the phone to her chest.

 Chanyeol glanced over at Baekhyun, who gave a small nod, and took a deep breath.

 “Long story short, Baekhyun is a secret agent, and obviously targeted at the moment,” Chanyeol muttered, nodding towards the phone. “His partner is on the phone, and he can give you more information, just talk to him as we try to take care of this.”

 Tears streaming down her face, Yoora finally lifted the phone to her ear, breaths so shallow as she shook like a leaf in the wind. Chanyeol felt just as terrified, but he had the training to actually _do_ something, to protect his sister and his husband, and goddammit if he let a little bit of fear get in the way of him doing just that!

 “Keep a lookout on the sides and behind us as I take care of the ones in front of us, we don’t want anyone to sneak up on us,” Baekhyun commanded, body taught like the string of a bow as he looked for an opening.

 Trying to remember all of his lessons, Chanyeol began to look for reflective surfaces - both those that could help them or harm them. Spotting a mirror that gave them away more than their enemies, Chanyeol aimed for it and took the shot, the mirror shattering into a thousand pieces as Chanyeol’s hands were shaking from how hard he was gripping the gun.

 “That’s my smart boy!” Baekhyun cackled, pride so clear in his voice that it had Chanyeol simultaneously blushing and preening.

 Then pure pandemonium broke out, and Chanyeol had thought that it was bad before, but it was nothing to now. Even more shots were fired, until it was deafening. He managed to make out Baekhyun telling them to lie down on the floor, Yoora screaming and sobbing, but it was all just a mess.

 Suddenly, just like that, everything was over. Silence settled over the scene, and Chanyeol barely dared open his eyes in fear of learning what had happened.

 “Chanyeol? Chanyeol, are you okay?” Chanyeol heard Baekhyun ask him, and opening his eyes, Chanyeol found his husband on his knees next to him, worry in his eyes.

 “I- Y-yeah,” Chanyeol managed to get out, trying to get his shocked mind to reboot and find out if there was any pain anywhere. He did not seem to have been shot, and he was rather thankful for that. “You?”

 Baekhyun gave a lopsided grin that seemed a shade too distressed to be fully authentic.

 “I’m fine, a few minor scrapes, but no holes that shouldn’t be there,” Baekhyun answered, trying to make his tone light, and Chanyeol exhaled a relieved breath he had not known he was holding. “Here, let me take the gun, and you can take care of your sister.”

 Handing the gun to his husband, Chanyeol quickly sat up and pulled the still sobbing Yoora into his arms, stroking her hair and gently rocking her to try to get her - and himself - to calm down.

 Baekhyun reholstered his guns as he stood up, beginning to talk to someone who walked over to them, voice commanding and firm. Chanyeol had no idea how he could be that calm, but this was not Baekhyun’s first firefight, after all. He was a senior agent, and though he mostly did spying missions, he knew how to handle situations like these.

 “Yoora,” Chanyeol gently whispered, leaning back a little so he could brush the hair out of her face. “Are you hurt? Anything at all?”

 Yoora shook her head a little, before wiping at her face with the sleeves of her shirt.

 “I-I don’t think so?” she said, voice shaky and thick. “Maybe a few scrapes and bruises?”

 “An ambulance is on its way, they’ll check on both of you to make sure you’re okay,” Baekhyun mumbled as he once more knelt down next to Chanyeol, placing his hand over Chanyeol’s nape and gently massaging. “You’re both running on adrenaline right now, so you might not feel pain properly.”

 “They need to take care of the others first,” Chanyeol said as he looked around. Not everyone had been as lucky as to have Baekhyun next to them to save them, and he knew that there were both injuries and fatalities around them.

 “Of course, they do quick checks on people and then decide who’s in most need of treatment,” Baekhyun answered. “You both will probably have to wait a while, but I’m still not going to let you walk out of here until you’re declared healthy enough, or are taken to the hospital.”

 “Does that mean you’ll stay with us, and not go off on a debriefing or something?” Chanyeol whispered, and even though he tried to keep it out of his voice, you could still here the uncertainty in it.

 Smiling warmly, Baekhyun leaned in to press a soft kiss against Chanyeol’s temple.

 “Of course, baby, I won’t leave you alone after your first gunfight. You need to be taken care of, comforted, and as your husband, I take that task very seriously!”

 Exhaling, Chanyeol reached out to take hold of Baekhyun’s hand, placing his cheek against Yoora’s head. Her sobs had quietened down to light sniffles by now, but Chanyeol made sure to keep her close anyway. Sitting with her head turned towards the table, she could not fully see the mayhem around them, because that was not a sight she needed to see.

 

 It turned out that Yoora was a bit more injured than they had initially thought, and coupled with the fact that she was rather traumatized by it all, they decided to keep her at the hospital overnight. Chanyeol only had a few scrapes, even less than Baekhyun, and when Chanyeol’s parents arrived at the hospital, Chanyeol and Baekhyun quietly left. His parents had barely even glanced in his direction, and even though Chanyeol had not expected anything less, it was still painful.

 Finally at home, the day’s event crashed down unto Chanyeol, exhaustion making his limbs heavy. The images of people lying around them, blood pooling on the floor, were played on repeat inside of his head, and as all of the adrenaline cleared out of his system, Chanyeol had to rush to the bathroom.

 Baekhyun soothingly rubbed his back as Chanyeol heaved into the toilet, not saying anything, just silently giving his support and love. And Chanyeol was thankful for that, because he was a mess, and had no idea how to handle anything at the moment, turning his mind off to help him cope at least for now.

 After his stomach had calmed down, Chanyeol collapsed down onto the floor, not even opening his eyes as Baekhyun gently cleaned his face.

 “Come on, let’s get you up to at least brush your teeth,” Baekhyun mumbled, pulling at Chanyeol and helping him stand up on shaky legs.

 Chanyeol was so numb that Baekhyun had to help him, and when Chanyeol caught sight of himself in the mirror, he almost puked again, his completely empty stomach being the only thing keeping him from it.

 “Shower, I need a shower,” Chanyeol somehow got out after he had rinsed his mouth, and Baekhyun only nodded in understanding before he helped Chanyeol out of his clothes and into the shower.

 Unable to stay standing, Chanyeol slowly sank to the floor, the cold tiles making him shiver - but it was barely noticeable considering how hard he was shaking anyway. Soon, Baekhyun had joined him, the shower head in his hand as he softly began to wash Chanyeol.

 A strange sound started to echo inside of the shower, and it took Chanyeol a long moment to realize that it was his own strangled sobs. As Baekhyun wrapped his arms around him, Chanyeol broke down in earnest, clinging to Baekhyun like a lifeline.

 As Baekhyun murmured sweet things into Chanyeol’s hair, Chanyeol just held on as wave after wave crashed over him, unable to and not even trying to hold it in.

 Then something clicked inside of Chanyeol, a switch flipped, and he craved to be even closer to Baekhyun, to be distracted by Baekhyun. Somehow managing to turn in Baekhyun’s arms, awkwardly propped up, Chanyeol pulled his husband closer and aggressively kissed him, tears still staining his cheeks.

 Baekhyun let him, arranging them into a more comfortable position - but he was calm against Chanyeol’s roughness, tranquil against Chanyeol’s storm. As if he knew - of course he knew - that Chanyeol needed it right now. But he was gentle, cupping Chanyeol’s cheek with his free hand, moving his lips against Chanyeol, but more placating than firing on.

 And soon, the fight in Chanyeol died down, exhaustion setting in, and he trailed his lips over Baekhyun’s cheek and jaw, nestling his head against the crook of Baekhyun’s neck, breath ragged by so many emotions warring inside of him.

 “Feeling better?” Baekhyun softly whispered, barely audible over the still-running water, and Chanyeol gave a sigh as his eyelids slipped closed. “Let’s go to bed then. You’ve been through a lot today.”

 After a moment longer of cuddling, and realizing that hugs in the bed was probably much better than in the shower where the water was starting to cool down, Chanyeol yet again allowed Baekhyun to help him. Quickly drying off, they did not bother with their hair or clothes, settling down amongst the sheets in the darkness. Baekhyun reached out for Chanyeol just as Chanyeol reached out for Baekhyun, and they tangled together, Chanyeol’s head on Baekhyun’s chest.

 “Get some sleep, I’ll be here when you wake up, and I won’t let anything hurt you,” Baekhyun mumbled into the silent night, his words so reassuring to Chanyeol somehow.

 Baekhyun was there, always ready to protect him, and that made Chanyeol feel so much more safe than any army could. It might be absurd, nonsensical, but it was completely logical to Chanyeol.

 Skin against skin, Chanyeol slowly drifted to sleep to the sound of Baekhyun’s steadfast heartbeats, oh so close.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, apparently I was immediately hit by the inspiration for this chapter, totally disregarding my need to update Wolf... But hey, at least I'm updating something, right? Ahahaha, right... So yeah, here you go, the continuation after the cliffhanger! Bet y'all are glad I didn't leave you hanging for too long, right? ;) soooo... It was a sorta-trap? Did I do good on the action scene? What did you think?  
> Also, yes, Chanyeol's parents are kind of assholes. Don't know how they can be that way towards the absolute sweetheart that is Chanyeol, but unfortunately, they are...


	13. Chapter XIII

 Panic was all Chanyeol could feel. Overwhelming panic suffocating him.

 Everything was blurred around him, the colors blending into each other to create a pure mess, enhancing and worsening the nausea-inducing panic.

 But it was the noise, the noise that was engulfing him, that was the worst.

 The sound of small explosions, the sound of dull thuds and things being torn apart, the sound of horrified and pained _screams_ around him… That was the worst of it all.

 Sobbing and trying to get his lungs under control so he could get something more than short gasps in, Chanyeol looked around, trying to find something to focus on, something that could help him stabilize his brain and bring back some kind of peace to it. But what Chanyeol’s eyes suddenly focused on had his heart come to a stop.

 Baekhyun. Lying in a pool of blood. And it was obvious that it was his own blood. Not only from the fact that he was lying in the open in the pool of blood, no one close enough to have bled - but also because of the bullet holes piercing his flesh.

 Clutching his bleeding chest, Baekhyun reached out with his free hand towards Chanyeol, teeth gritted and tears running down his temple. Chanyeol tried to reach for Baekhyun as well, but something was holding him back, keeping him in place so that only their fingertips were able to softly brush against each other.

 Then the light dimmed in Baekhyun’s eyes, his face relaxing as his hand hit the ground, and Chanyeol screamed.

 

 Chanyeol came awake to sobs echoing around the room, gasping for air. His cheeks were wet, and there was something else being heard over the sobs, but Chanyeol could not really identify it.

 What he realized first was that there were hands on his face, wiping his… His tears away. He was crying - was he the one sobbing so heartbreakingly as well? As Chanyeol took a painful and shuddering breath, he realized that yes, it was his sobs that were echoing around them.

 With these realizations, everything flooded back, and Chanyeol recognized Baekhyun’s voice, telling him to calm down, it’s fine, it’s okay, he’s okay, just calm down, it’s fine…

 “Baek,” Chanyeol managed to croak out, his throat so sore and raspy. “They _shot_ you!”

 Baekhyun stilled for a moment, palms against Chanyeol’s cheeks, before he gave a soft smile that the darkness almost completely stole away.

 “Many people have tried to shoot me, with various degrees of success, but I’m assuming you’re talking about the people that shot at us yesterday?” Baekhyun asked, getting a small nod. “Baby, I’m fine, they didn’t hit me. It was a bad dream induced by yesterday’s events, I’m completely fine. Okay?”

 Chanyeol managed to bring a trembling hand up to splay it over Baekhyun’s chest, right where he had been hit in his dream, and only then was he able to start breathing a bit more easily.

 “I don’t think I’d be trying to have a conversation and calm you down if I was shot in the chest, babe,” Baekhyun chuckled, but there was something softer beneath the amusement. “Do you want to go back to sleep, Chanyeol?”

 Immediately, Chanyeol vigorously shook his head, not caring if he was acting childish. His heart was still aching, and he knew it would not go away for a long time - neither would the anxiety that he would go back to watching Baekhyun die when he closed his eyes.

 A shudder went through Chanyeol at the last thought, and Baekhyun noticed, lying down so he could pull Chanyeol close.

 Closing his eyes, Chanyeol more or less wrapped himself around Baekhyun, thankful that the older did not try to push him away or stop him, but rather just softly dragging his fingers through Chanyeol’s hair.

 “Let’s talk, then,” Baekhyun hummed into the silent night. “So your parents seem like nice people.”

 The sudden topic change caught Chanyeol completely off guard, making him snort-laugh so hard that he accidentally put a fine mist of snot over Baekhyun’s chest.

 “Ew, nasty…,” Baekhyun snickered as Chanyeol used the cover to wipe it away, grateful for the darkness hiding his flaming cheeks. Baekhyun could probably still feel it against his skin, but at least it was something!

 “Sorry, I just…,” Chanyeol mumbled, giving a small smile as he shook his head as well as he could with it propped up on Baekhyun. “Too sudden. And no. Or well, yes? They were really nice, they were the best parents ever, until I came out to them. Then they suddenly turned into these… Strangers.”

 “I never realized just how shitty they actually were,” Baekhyun softly said as he continued to brush his fingers through Chanyeol’s hair, massaging the scalp with his nails and having shivers run down Chanyeol’s spine. “I mean, you told me about everything, but to actually ignore their own son when he’s keeping his sister company in the hospital after an event they were both in… That just goes beyond my comprehension.”

 Chanyeol gave a dark chuckle as something wet and disgusting formed in his chest.

 “I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if they blamed me for it… Maybe not that I consciously did it, but I was meeting Yoora, in that café, therefore I put her in danger.”

 “If anything, it was me who put her in danger,” Baekhyun said, a sharp edge to his voice. “I shouldn’t have agreed to meeting her, not until we knew it was actually safe…”

 “Stop, don’t. I won’t let you blame yourself,” Chanyeol said as he tightened his hold on Baekhyun. “We hadn’t seen any proof at all on anybody being after you, and I talked you into this. You’re not to blame, at least not fully.”

 Baekhyun gave a soft sigh as he patted Chanyeol’s head. “Why do you have to use logic against me, Park Chanyeol? Stop making sense so I can wallow in my pity!”

 “No, you’re supposed to comfort me after my nightmare,” Chanyeol pouted, only slightly joking.

 Because he was still feeling horrible, that helpless and panicked feeling of watching his husband die without even being able to hold his hand, was still deeply engraved into Chanyeol’s entire being. It would probably be a long time before Chanyeol got over it, considering he had already had to deal with Baekhyun actually getting shot once before.

 “But I am, I’m distracting you, but now you remembered again,” Baekhyun murmured, lips pressing sweet kisses against Chanyeol’s hair. “I’ll never tell you to not worry or that you’re stupid, because they are valid fears. I’m fine right now, I’ve been fine in the past, and I’ll do my damndest to stay fine in the future.”

 “Yeah, wouldn’t want to leave me a widower with our kids,” Chanyeol snorted, thankfully keeping all of his snot in his nose this time around. “I want a dog, Baekhyun.”

 “I have a dog,” Baekhyun hummed, making Chanyeol sit upright in chock. “What?”

 “What do you mean ‘what’?!” Chanyeol exclaimed. “You have _a dog_? Why haven’t you told me? Where is it? _What_ is it, what’s its name, how old is it-”

 “Oh my god, Chanyeol, let me answer at least a few questions before you give me more!” Baekhyun interrupted Chanyeol, laughing. “Yes, I have a dog, his name is Mongryong, and he’s a Welsh Corgi. He’s living with my parents because I’m on the move so often, and if… Well…”

 “If something were to happen, you don’t want him to suffer for it,” Chanyeol softly finished Baekhyun’s sentence. “I understand… Still doesn’t make up for the fact that you never even _told_ me about him, though!”

 “You never asked! Baekhyun shot back, making Chanyeol roll his eyes. “How was I supposed to know you wanted to know about him?”

 “You should’ve realized by now that I love dogs, Baekhyun,” Chanyeol deadpanned. “You _literally_ wrote ‘puppy’ on my thigh after the Halloween party.”

 “A Halloween party you barely even made it to,” Baekhyun smirked, trailing his fingertips up and down Chanyeol’s arm and leaving goosebumps in their wake. “How long were you actually in the room?”

 “Before you whisked me away with your vampire magic? Like a minute or something,” Chanyeol answered, smiling against Baekhyun’s skin. “The point is, I love dogs, and you should know this! You’re an agent, you’re supposed to notice such things, but you also claim to love me more than anything else!”

 “Okay, fine, I’ll take you to meet Mongryong someday,” Baekhyun drawled, giving an eye roll that Chanyeol could _hear_ in his voice.

 Chanyeol squealed and threw his fist into the air, doing a wiggling kind of victory dance that had Baekhyun laughing. Maybe he was a bit too excited about a meeting with a dog, but Chanyeol really liked dogs.

 

 “So you don’t visit your parents that often?” Chanyeol asked, eyelids getting heavier and heavier.

 “Not really, no,” Baekhyun mumbled, his voice sounding airy. “I don’t want to drag my shit to them, neither do I want them to get kidnapped or whatever by my enemies. Same reason for why I was so close to breaking us off so many times…”

 Baekhyun’s words went through Chanyeol like a shockwave, and suddenly he was wide awake.

 “So many times? I remember once, plus the beginning where you tried to not get too involved with me,” Chanyeol said, pulling back so he could get up on one elbow.

 Baekhyun was laying with his eyes closed, lips parted slightly, a serene look on his face. Coupled with his hair spread out around his head, he looked _angelic_. Chanyeol could not look away - neither could he believe that an angel was lying next to him in their shared bed. Would he disappear if Chanyeol blinked?

 Then Baekhyun’s lips slowly curled into a smirk, and he looked like an incubus instead. Debauchery and lust in one sinful body, and Chanyeol did not mind it at all. Baekhyun was Baekhyun, no matter if he was angelic or demonic, and Chanyeol was so deeply in his trap.

 “I feel you staring at me, sweetheart. I’m still real, you wanna touch and see for yourself?” Baekhyun purred, and Chanyeol was happy that his eyes were closed, considering how warm Chanyeol’s cheeks suddenly became.

 “Just answer my question,” Chanyeol muttered, hoping he was not sounding too embarrassed.

 “Hm… I thought about breaking up with you several times before we got married,” Baekhyun whispered, as if it was a secret only for Chanyeol and the night covering them. “I thought about breaking up with you even though we hadn’t even talked about being exclusive, and that scared me. You became so important to me in such a short amount of time, but that was also the reason I stayed. I didn’t _want_ to let you go, I wanted to be selfish for once, and… Here we are. I sometimes still have those thoughts, I had them a lot this previous week, thinking about how much safer you would be without me. But then I think about how much I love you, and how much you’ve sacrificed for me, how many things you’ve done to make sure I can breathe a little bit easier, and it makes it so easy for me to justify staying. I never want to leave, and you give me so many reasons to stay.”

 Chanyeol let himself fall down on top of Baekhyun, burying his face against Baekhyun’s throat. As if instinctively, without thinking about it, Baekhyun wrapped his arms around Chanyeol and held him close.

 “I’ll never give you a reason to leave, and a thousand reasons for you to stay,” Chanyeol mumbled against the soft skin, Baekhyun squirming a bit beneath him.

 “I’ll put my trust in you, and hold you to that, then, Mr. Park,” Baekhyun murmured, one hand coming up to massage Chanyeol’s neck. “You should sleep now. I’ll be here and help you if you have another nightmare, just relax.”

 “Mm, I’ll try…,” Chanyeol sleepily mumbled, allowing himself to succumb to the exhaustion still hanging heavy in his body. “I want to meet our son soon…”

 As Baekhyun gave a laugh that vibrated through his body and into Chanyeol’s, Chanyeol fell asleep with a smile on his lips, but worry in his mind.

 

 The night was a stretch of Chanyeol falling asleep, before being startled awake. Sometimes by his dreams, sometimes by Baekhyun.

 When the clock started getting closer to something more socially accepted to be up at, Baekhyun allowed Chanyeol get up and take a shower, as he himself headed into the kitchen to start cooking them some breakfast.

 Emerging from the bathroom, Chanyeol stumbled into the kitchen to find Baekhyun with his back against him, dressed in one of Chanyeol’s oversized t-shirts. It was big enough on Baekhyun that it covered the important bits, but still showed off enough that Chanyeol realized that Baekhyun was going commando.

 “You’re staring again,” Baekhyun teased, and Chanyeol was no longer surprised by how Baekhyun knew he was standing there. An agent should be able to notice things like that anyway.

 “How can you be so handsome, sexy, yet cute at the same time?” Chanyeol asked, real exasperation in his voice.

 “Take a look in the mirror, that’s a pretty good description of you,” Baekhyun answered, and Chanyeol fell a little bit more for his husband, however that now was possible.

 Instead of saying anything, Chanyeol walked over to Baekhyun, bending down a little to place his hands on the outer side of Baekhyun’s thighs. He was curious, and there was only way of finding out. Or, well, there were more, but this was the fun way! So Chanyeol slid his hands upwards, until his fingers slid over Baekhyun’s hip bones - nothing having been in the way to stop him.

 “I thought you would tell me when you’re going commando?” Chanyeol whined, getting a pat on one of his hands as Baekhyun chuckled.

 “I don’t think this counts as ‘going commando’, but either way you were in the shower when I decided to throw on a shirt to keep my stomach safe from splashes,” Baekhyun explained, and Chanyeol guessed that was fair enough.

 “Wait,” Chanyeol said, stilling as something popped into his head. “You’d gone naked otherwise?”

 The way Baekhyun turned his head slightly to glance up at his husband, eyes dark and a smirk on his lips, let Chanyeol know that yes, he indeed would have done that. And it stirred something inside of Chanyeol, something he unfortunately did not have the energy to address at the moment.

 Something that Baekhyun seemed to realize, as he gently pushed Chanyeol away and nodded towards the kitchen bar.

 “Sit down, it’s soon done,” he said, and Chanyeol gave Baekhyun’s cheek a quick peck, before doing as told.

 Soon, they were eating together, in silence but not an uncomfortable one. One of Baekhyun’s hands was permanently resting on Chanyeol’s sweatpant-clad thighs, thumb rubbing circles into the flesh.

 Looking down at those beautiful slender fingers, Chanyeol could not help the flashback from his dream; of Baekhyun clutching at his chest whilst quickly bleeding out. Baekhyun noticed that something was wrong, going over to massaging Chanyeol’s thigh, but the comfort was not enough.

 Leaning his forehead against the back of his hand, Chanyeol tried to take deep breaths, eyes stinging from the prickling of tears. It was hard to swallow the lump in his throat, but Chanyeol did his best, hating how _weak_ and _helpless_ he felt about the whole situation.

 “Chanyeol. Stop thinking about it. Focus on me and the present,” Baekhyun mumbled as he brushed some of Chanyeol’s hair out of his face, putting it behind his ear. “There’s nothing else but you and me here, right now, so think of nothing else but us now. We’re in our own little bubble.”

 Putting his chopsticks down, Chanyeol leaned his head back to try to make the tears run back down into him, but it really was not helping a lot. He heard Baekhyun’s chair move, before he felt a hand on his shoulder, a weight settling down in his lap. Tilting his head back down, Chanyeol gave a sniffle and looked at Baekhyun in confusion, the latter straddling Chanyeol’s thighs.

 With a serious expression, Baekhyun cradled Chanyeol’s face in his hands, forcing them to keep eye contact.

 “If you need to cry it out or whatever, then please do so, I’m here for you,” Baekhyun promised, thumbs coming up to caress Chanyeol’s cheekbones. “But after that I want you to think about me and the present, and not anything else. That’s the two only things that matter.”

 Chanyeol gave a watery laugh, a soft smile on his lips. “I love you, but isn’t that a bit arrogant?”

 “Hybris is one of my weaknesses,” Baekhyun conspiratorially whispered, making Chanyeol give another weak laugh. “Oh, my heart, come here.”

 Baekhyun brought Chanyeol close, and Chanyeol did not hesitate in wrapping his arms around Baekhyun’s body, hands fisted in the t-shirt as Baekhyun softly sang the first song Chanyeol had ever made for Baekhyun. Baekhyun’s song, the song he had been the muse of.

 Already so exhausted by having cried so much the night before, Chanyeol merely let the tears flow, without the sobs and breathlessness this time around. Baekhyun’s shoulder was getting more and more wet, but neither mentioned it.

 “Wow, I’m disgusted. I’m never eating here ever again, ugh!”

 Both Chanyeol and Baekhyun jumped at the new voice, Chanyeol accidentally hitting his forehead on Baekhyun’s collarbone, dragging hisses from both of them.

 “Kim Jongdae! I swear on everything, I’m going to fucking chop you into little pieces soon!” Baekhyun growled, jaw clenched, as he rubbed his own sore spot, as well as Chanyeol’s. “Stop fucking walking into our place without knocking first!”

 “But the door was open,” Jongdae innocently said, changing demeanor as he walked closer. “No matter, we have shit to do. You’re probably not safe here, so we’re preparing a safe place for you to go to. Ew, what the actual fuck, Byun? Are you naked beneath that shirt?”

 Baekhyun pinned Jongdae with the most bored yet tired stare Chanyeol had ever seen, and Chanyeol was rather impressed by it.

 “Of fucking course I am. Aren’t you naked beneath your clothes?” Baekhyun deadpanned, Chanyeol chuckling lightly as he placed his head on Baekhyun’s shoulder.

 “Yeah, but I’m wearing underwear, you know, like _normal people_?” Jongdae groaned, still standing next to them though. “Your junk is all hanging out!”

 “Normal doesn’t have to mean underwear, commando is a whole concept,” Baekhyun drawled, patting Chanyeol’s hair affectionately. “And I’m pretty sure my love doesn’t mind my junk all hanging out…”

 Chanyeol gave a chuckle as he buried his flaming face against Baekhyun’s chest to hide, still not completely used to the agents bickering, though he had heard it for quite some time now.

 “Ugh, right, because y’all are nasty,” Jongdae complained, sounding utterly disgusted. “I wouldn’t want to do an UV examination in _any_ part of your apartment…”

 “Probably not!” Baekhyun sing-sang, a shiteating grin on his lips that Chanyeol could hear in his voice, Chanyeol’s cheeks burning even hotter. “But yeah, I guess it’s best if I go put some pants on or something… I’ll be right back, don’t even try anything, Mr. Kim.”

 Jongdae raised an eyebrow, but gave a mock salute anyway, shrieking and shielding his eyes when Baekhyun got up from Chanyeol’s lap, his shirt riding up a little, before heading over to the bedroom.

 “How are you holding up, Chanyeollie?” Jongdae said, a soft smile on his lips that Chanyeol rarely saw.

 Ignoring the question to why Jongdae called him ‘Chanyeollie’, Chanyeol gave a half-shrug. “I don’t know… I’m swinging from shock to panic and back? Nightmares, fears, the usual stuff for trauma victims, I guess?”

 Jongdae pursed his lips in thought, tilting his head to the sides, before nodding.

 “Yepp, yepp, sounds pretty much like it,” Jongdae said in a light tone, before turning serious again. “Don’t hesitate to reach out if you need anything, or whatever. We haven’t known each other for long, but I like you, and I see how happy you make Baekhyun. How happy you make each other, actually… So whatever it is, let me know, and I’ll try to help.”

 Chanyeol gave a genuine smile at that, touched by the offer.

 “Thanks, Jongdae. That means a lot.”

 Jongdae gave a wink at that, as Chanyeol picked up on Baekhyun getting closer.

 “Wow, I really can’t leave you alone with someone for a _minute_ without you flirting with them,” Baekhyun dryly said, and Chanyeol could detect a note of jealousy in his husband’s voice.

_Cute._

 “Whatever, Byun, put your insecurities to the side, we have shit to do!” Jongdae exclaimed, before leading the way to the dining table.

 Standing up to follow, Chanyeol reached out and took a hold of Baekhyun’s wrist, pulling him to a stop. Confused, Baekhyun looked up at him, and Chanyeol took the advantage to press their lips together, a little too long to be considered a sweet kiss, but slow enough to be quite chaste.

 “I love you,” Chanyeol mumbled as he pulled back, earning himself a rectangular smile and star-speckled eyes that sparkled like the Milky Way in the night sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I accidentally forgot to post this when I posted it over at AFF... I was hungover and it was 2AM, can't really blame me, ahahaha... But, anyway, yes? Another update, yay?


	14. Chapter XIV

 As they were situated around the dining table - Chanyeol the only one actually seated, whilst Baekhyun and Jongdae were standing, looking through things and discussing - Chanyeol realized a few things. The first one being that vampire teeth probably was not his only kink, because serious Agent Byun was pretty hot too, despite being dressed only in a oversized shirt and a pair of boxers. Maybe that just added to it, the contrast between the two?

 Secondly, Chanyeol realized that he was slightly annoyed by Jongdae’s unexpected visit (again…), and the fact that Baekhyun had put on some more clothes, even though it was not much. Even if Chanyeol felt too exhausted to actually do anything, he liked knowing that Baekhyun was walking around with only one flimsy article of clothing covering him. It was nice. Not to mention that Chanyeol _really_ liked Baekhyun’s thighs, because they were glorious, and Chanyeol was not even exaggerating.

 And lastly, Chanyeol realized that he still needed closeness and comfort, the thoughts spinning way too fast in his head. And he needed to make sure that Baekhyun was close and safe in a more tangible way than just seeing him, even though Baekhyun was literally standing like an inch away from him.

 Understanding that Baekhyun needed both of his hands, Chanyeol instead placed his hand on Baekhyun’s thigh, fingers wrapping as far around it as they could go. The little jolt would have been unnoticeable had Chanyeol not been holding on to Baekhyun, and he gave Baekhyun a tired smile when his husband glanced down at him. Giving Chanyeol’s cheek a quick pat, Baekhyun then went back to discussing more with Jongdae, Chanyeol following along as well as he could.

 At one point of the discussion, Baekhyun wrapped an arm around Chanyeol’s shoulder, allowing him to lean his head against Baekhyun’s side. Baekhyun’s fingers traveled up Chanyeol’s neck in a soft massage, before continuing up his scalp. Chanyeol’s fingers dug into Baekhyun’s flesh at every shiver running down his spine, and he kind of hoped he would not leave marks behind.

 But at the same time, Chanyeol kind of wished he would, showing off that Baekhyun was his, even though others would most probably notice his wedding band before bruises on his thigh. But Chanyeol’s mind was a bit strange at the moment.

 “Okay, but I have to ask,” Jongdae interrupted at one point, staring at the husbands in disbelief. “Why aren't you at least half hard, Baek?”

 “Do you want me to be?” Baek asked with amusement clear in his voice, not letting up on his massaging.

 “Fuck no, but Chanyeol has his hand on the _inside of your thigh_ , and last time I checked, that was considered an erogenous zone by like everyone?” Jongdae asked, and Chanyeol opened his eyes enough to see that Jongdae looked as confused as he sounded. “I've seen how he's basically been massaging your thigh since you started massaging his head, and that sounded way less dirty in my head.”

 Chanyeol gave a small smile at that, pressing his face against Baekhyun’s side and inhaling the scent of his husband interlaced with their detergent.

 “I've no idea why you felt the need to look at my thighs, so ew?” Baekhyun protested, before sobering up. “He dreamt that I was shot, and wants closeness to make sure I'm alright. Don't know why you went for my thigh though, sweetheart?”

 Chanyeol cleared his throat and licked his lips, his mouth having dried up a little.

 “Thought you needed your hands, and I really like your thighs, so they were the next best option,” Chanyeol explained, giving a small shrug.

 “You're so cute, smart thinking,” Baekhyun chuckled, softly patting Chanyeol’s head. “As for the first question, I'm focusing on other things, Dae. I'm not some hormonal teenager who lacks self control, and we're talking about things a bit more important than me getting laid, especially as I know Chanyeol doesn't want that right now.”

 “I want the intimacy, not the sex,” Chanyeol clarified. “To make sure he's here and fine, though I know it's a bit illogical.”

 Jongdae slowly nodded and gave a shrug. “Makes sense. Okay, back to business!”

 

 Jongdae left with the promise to return in the evening, with food and sleeping pills strong enough to hopefully be able to grant Chanyeol at least some undisturbed sleep.

 Wanting to stay awake, there were immediately some things that were discarded as options, like watching a movie and things like that, but in the end, Chanyeol and Baekhyun ended up playing cards. Armed with mugs of coffee, they played different card games, Chanyeol being able to loosen up at least some.

 Slowly, Chanyeol began to be able to tolerate Baekhyun not being next to him all the time - as long as he was within reaching distance. As they were seated across from each other at the dining table, their ankles were hooked together, Chanyeol sometimes reaching out to silently request some hand-holding.

 “I have a thought, a theory,” Baekhyun began at one point, a small wrinkle between his eyebrows that Chanyeol wanted to reach over and smoothen out, as he looked at his cards, debating what to do. Having chewed on his lower lip for a few seconds, Baekhyun then placed his card and looked up at Chanyeol again. “This need to have me close to be able to make sure I’m alright all the time, I don’t think it’s only based in the event of yesterday and your dream last night. I think it has at least some to do with the fact that your own family disowned you, and even though you have friends, you were still searching for something more, another kind of _deeper_ love. So when you got me, you held on to me with both hands, and the thought of me being injured or dying is so horrible to you because of unresolved feelings towards your family.”

 Chanyeol wanted to tell Baekhyun that he was wrong. He wanted to tell Baekhyun that it was only because of him thinking that Baekhyun was an amazing person that he held on so hard to Baekhyun, not partially because he was afraid to be alone again. He wanted to tell Baekhyun that the reason for why the nightmare scared him so much was only because he loved Baekhyun and never wanted to see him suffer, not partially because he was afraid of losing those he loved yet again.

 But Baekhyun was right. And Chanyeol knew that. Even if he had never thought about it that way before, he knew that Baekhyun was right.

 “I’m not a shrink or anything, so I can’t say anything for certain,” Baekhyun softly said, reaching out and taking Chanyeol’s hand, a small yet brilliant smile on his lips. “Neither am I saying that it’s wrong, just… An explanation. Maybe something to work on. And maybe I can help in some way, to help you slowly get used to not freaking out over nightmares when you know I’m fine, and not have to have me around twenty four-seven to make sure that I’m fine, because things happen, unfortunately, and that’s just life.”

 Chanyeol looked down at Baekhyun’s hand over his, turning his hand over before it was cradling Baekhyun’s, the slender fingers looking so fragile in his grip. Slender fingers able to accurately fire a gun, or form a fist to take somebody down. Slender fingers that were nowhere near as fragile as they looked. And Chanyeol knew this. He just had to fully realize it.

 “And I’m certainly not saying that this is something you have to deal with today, after everything that has happened. The thought just popped into my head, and I felt like it was important to tell you about it,” Baekhyun whispered, fingertips ghosting over Chanyeol’s wrist, just above where his pulse was fluttering beneath his skin. “Whatever you want or think, just let me know, okay?”

 Chanyeol gave a small nod at that, wondering if his heart would ever get used to Baekhyun’s touch, or even Baekhyun’s presence.

 Probably not. Chanyeol hoped not.

 

 After having played cards for as long as they could stand, Baekhyun agreed to going into the studio and just messing around and maybe record some stuff. Chanyeol loved seeing Baekhyun’s fingers dance across the keys of the piano, and Chanyeol loved hearing Baekhyun sing, so any time Baekhyun went into the studio with him, it felt like a blessing.

 It was his sanctuary, and to have his angel inside of it made Chanyeol feel so happy, even with everything that was going on and had happened. For the second time in a week or so, Chanyeol felt carefree and blissful, and quite a lot of hours disappeared into making some sweet music together.

 Until Jongdae popped his head inside of the studio, managing to make both Chanyeol and Baekhyun jump in surprise.

 “There must be something we can do to keep him out!” Chanyeol whined as he pressed his hand against his chest, heart beating out of control.

 As Baekhyun stomped over to Jongdae, murder written across his features, Jongdae quickly held up two bags.

 “Peace offerings?” Jongdae innocently said, but Chanyeol had started to be able to see through his charade, and was not buying the regret that Jongdae was trying to display at all. “And seriously, I knocked this time around, but no one was answering the door, so I had to break in and make sure you were alright.”

 “We have a doorbell for a reason, idiot,” Baekhyun muttered, taking the bags from Jongdae and handing the smaller one to Chanyeol. “At least you brought some good food…”

 

 After all of the food was eaten, and Chanyeol had taken the sleeping medication, they all relocated to the couch. Baekhyun and Jongdae talked about some random things as Chanyeol slowly sank down into his sleep, head in Baekhyun’s lap as Baekhyun played with Chanyeol’s hair.

 “I hope he’ll be able to get some rest,” Baekhyun mumbled as he felt Chanyeol relax completely, his limbs giving some random twitches. “He can’t be afraid of sleeping forever.”

 “He’ll get over it,” Jongdae said, smiling softly at the sleeping man. “It might take some time, but he’ll get over it. We were freaked out after our first gun fights as well, and to have it sprung upon him without any prior warning or preparations, that must have been terrifying. Even if he knew it might be a potential trap.”

 Baekhyun sighed as he brushed his thumb across Chanyeol’s cheekbone, enjoying the way Chanyeol pressed his face against his hand. Reacting to Baekhyun even as he was asleep. Baekhyun wondered what he had done in his past lives to earn him the right to be loved by someone like Chanyeol.

 No, not someone like Chanyeol, but Chanyeol _himself_. No one could compare to Chanyeol, Baekhyun knew this deep in his heart, and he felt so incredibly lucky, on a daily basis, that he had met Chanyeol.

 It had been a whirlwind romance, but Baekhyun would not have it any other way.

 “Just make sure that you take care of yourself as well, Baek,” Jongdae suddenly said, his voice tinged with worry. “You can’t take care of him all the time, and to even be able to take care of him somewhat, you need to take care of yourself.”

 “I know, Dae, I know…”

 

 Chanyeol felt extremely rested when he woke up, even though his body was aching. Slowly blinking his eyes open, he realized that he had slept on the couch for however many hours he had been asleep - as well as on Baekhyun’s lap - so it really was not strange.

 His husband had not moved an inch since when Chanyeol had fallen asleep, head leaned at a weird angle against the backrest of the sofa, and it had Chanyeol wince in sympathy pain. Carefully sitting up and groaning as his spine cracked itself into place, Chanyeol then got up and cautiously moved Baekhyun into a lying position. Baekhyun gave a displeased little puppy whine that Chanyeol did not know if it was due to the probable pain in his neck, or being handled into another position, but as Baekhyun’s head hit the pillow, he relaxed again and sank down into the sofa.

 Sneaking out of the living room after having covered Baekhyun with a blanket, Chanyeol headed into the studio and closed the door after him. The room was soundproof, so he knew he would not disturb Baekhyun’s sleep, sleep that Baekhyun just as desperately needed.

 Sitting down, Chanyeol swung the chair from side to side, fingertips grazing the desk. He felt so restless, needing to get _something_ out, but not knowing what that _something_ was… But at the same time, he felt so exhausted, lethargic, near apathetic, and it was such a strange contrast that Chanyeol had no idea what to do with himself.

 Pushing himself upright, Chanyeol started his computer, wanting to focus on something else that his need to go check up on Baekhyun. He knew Baekhyun was fine, Baekhyun was alright, and Chanyeol had to start somewhere to try to not smother Baekhyun. Even though Baekhyun did not seem to mind, at least not at the moment, Chanyeol knew it could not go on like that. Baekhyun’s theory made it so much more obvious.

 Clicking around, Chanyeol chewed on his lower lip as he tried to decide on something to do, not feeling like any of the current projects were good or fun enough to waste time and energy on. Time he did have, energy he did not.

 

  _Something is wrong_ , was the first thing Baekhyun thought as he woke up. Something was wrong, but he could not quite put his finger on it.

 Until he realized that he was lying down, when he had fallen asleep sitting up. And there was no Chanyeol in his lap-

 Eyes flying open, Baekhyun sat up and looked around in confusion, heart beating so fast in his chest. Different scenarios rapidly went past in his mind, and he felt as if he was not getting enough air, panic flooding his veins.

 Almost falling as he tried to stand up with legs tangled into the blanket, Baekhyun rushed through the apartment, skidding into the kitchen before realizing it was empty. Nobody was in the bedroom either, nor the bathroom, and Baekhyun had never been as worried and scared in his entire life as he was in that very moment.

 More or less tearing the door to the studio open, Baekhyun came to a stop so fast that he almost fell over, relief flooding him so quickly that he felt weak to the knees. Chanyeol jumped in his chair, banging a knee into one of the legs of his desk as he tried to turn around in shock and surprise. Baekhyun could not help the panicked giggle that bubbled from his throat, pressing a hand over his mouth and trying to will his sudden tears away.

 “Ouchie…,” Chanyeol rather pathetically whimpered, cradling his knee, and Baekhyun gave an unsteady laugh as he managed to unglue his feet and walked into the room on jelly legs. “Why did you scare me?”

 “Because you scared me!” Baekhyun burst out, gently slapping Chanyeol’s shoulder when he was close enough, before sitting down on his knees so he could take a look at Chanyeol’s knee. Or maybe mostly because he was sure he was about to fall down. “How’s your knee?”

 “Hurts,” Chanyeol answered, the pout clear in his voice even though Baekhyun was not looking at his face. Baekhyun was staring at his hands on Chanyeol’s legs, and how they were lightly trembling. “Are you okay, Baek?”

 It was as if a dam was opened, Baekhyun collapsing on top of Chanyeol’s lap as he tried to breathe normally, tried to hold the tears in. Gentle fingers tangled into his hair, and he gave a dry sob.

 “And you say I have separation anxiety,” Chanyeol mumbled softly, making Baekhyun give something that sounded like a mix between a strangled laugh and a sob.

 “I guess we’re both messes,” Baekhyun managed to say when he finally felt okay enough to sit up, rubbing at his wet eyes. Not a single tear had escaped, but they still felt sore. “How long have you been in here?”

 Chanyeol shrugged as he removed his oversized headphones, before motioning for Baekhyun to come up and sit in his lap.

 “No idea, but considering how my body is aching, I’d say a few hours? But that might have been the couch’s fault as well.”

 “Why didn’t you wake me up when you woke up?” Baekhyun asked, putting his head on Chanyeol’s shoulder as his husband wrapped his arms around him. “I’m guessing you were the one laying me down?”

 “Mm, I didn’t want to disturb your sleep, you need it too,” Chanyeol murmured into Baekhyun’s hair. “You might be a cool superhero, but heroes need to sleep sometimes too.”

 Baekhyun could not help the giant grin from spreading on his lips as he tilted his head back enough to be able to look up at Chanyeol.

 “Did you just call me a superhero?” he asked, adoration spreading through him as he saw faint red situate itself across Chanyeol’s cheeks and the tips of his ear.

 “You are a superhero, _my_ hero,” Chanyeol muttered, glancing away from Baekhyun, obviously embarrassed.

 Cupping Chanyeol’s cheek with a hand, Baekhyun forced him to look back, smiling softly as he felt both like crying and bursting from happiness. It was a strange mix, but it felt oddly fitting.

 “As long as I’m your hero, I don’t care what anyone else thinks about me,” Baekhyun whispered, soft smile turning teasing. “Maybe I should get myself a spandex catsuit?”

 “Oh my god, I’ll divorce you if you ever do…,” Chanyeol threatened, but he was still smiling as he buried his face against Baekhyun’s neck, pulling him even closer, as Baekhyun cackled.

 “We’re not legally married, so you can’t divorce me, and then you’ll never meet our son!” Baekhyun joked, before turning contemplating. “How about a bright yellow suit? I’ve heard I look good in yellow?”

 “Please, if I have to endure this to be able to see Mongryong, choose a more neutral color, like black,” Chanyeol exasperatedly begged, his breath tickling Baekhyun’s neck.

 “I love you, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun sighed, bliss somewhat helping in releasing the pent up frustration and stress he had been feeling for so long now.

 The featherlight kiss being pressed alongside the soft words against his throat helped even more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... This was a pretty slow one, eh? Without giving too much away, we've now arrived at the eye of the storm... We've already had the calm before the storm, the storm, and now the eye of the storm. Anticipate the next chapter.  
> Speaking of chapters, there's probably only 2 or so more chapters + epilogue left before this is done. And they should be able to be posted once a week, unless something completely unforeseen happens. Ch15 is already written a good chunk of, and I have outline for ch16, so, yeah... Expect more soon!


	15. Chapter XV

 Slowly getting back to something semi-similar to how things had been before the surprise attack, Chanyeol began to distance himself from Baekhyun by closing himself into his studio. Both because he felt like creating, and because he wanted to stretch his limits for how long he could stay away from his husband.

 Sometimes it was Baekhyun who came to find him, lounging in the studio with Chanyeol for a while, until they were both satisfied with making sure that the other was safe.

 According to Jongdae, they would soon be moved to a more secure place, all of the details being worked out with a few trusted people - Baekhyun jokingly asking why Jongdae was part of those trusted people. Baekhyun was then nursing an aching head, which Chanyeol kind of had to agree had been his husband’s own fault.

 But knowing that they would soon have to leave the apartment, and unable to bring too many things with them, Chanyeol poured even more of himself into his project. It was imperative that it was finished before they had to leave.

 Early in the morning of the day they were supposed to leave, Chanyeol was finally able to claim the project finished, relief flooding his veins as the files were saved onto the USB stick already containing Baekhyun’s song. Clutching the USB in his hand, Chanyeol finally went and collapsed into bed next to Baekhyun, allowing the older to snuggle up to him for a few more hours before they had to wake up and get ready.

 

 “All the important and valuable things are to be put here, so we can move them to a safe storage,” Jongdae instructed in a bored voice, vaguely motioning for a spot on the floor near one of the walls. “You can bring a few things, but we don’t recommend bringing any electronic devices-”

 “Dae, for fucks sake, I know how it works,” Baekhyun exasperatedly interrupted his fellow agent, putting his laptop and phone in the designated area.

 “Just helping you, you might forget something in the rush of everything…,” Jongdae muttered, a pout on his face.

 “I don’t think there’s a rush, Baek already went through everything with me like a day ago or something,” Chanyeol said as he came to dump some of his stuff, groaning as he stood up and stretched his back. “We made a list on what to leave behind and what we had to bring with us.”

 Jongdae rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. “Of course you did, Mr. Protocol.”

 “So first you go all ‘let me help you remember everything’, and then you’re annoyed by the fact that I’ve already gone through everything to make this as non-stressful as possible?” Baekhyun complained, walking over to Jongdae to lightly shake him. “Please. Make. Up. Your. Mind!”

 “I’m worried, okay?” Jongdae sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I know you’re very capable, Baek, but I’m worried. I don’t like this situation at all, and with Chanyeol involved as well… I know you can take care of yourself, and Chanyeol isn’t doing too bad on his own either, but together, I just feel like it can easily and quickly derail, your feelings for each other basically getting in the way.”

 Baekhyun gave a soft smile at that, squeezing Jongdae’s shoulders.

 “I understand. I wish you could come with us, I’d feel a lot better if you were there.”

 “Oh, right, why can’t you come with?” Chanyeol asked, looking up as he had hunkered down on the floor to mess with some of his things. “You’re as trustworthy as they get, right? You two have been friends for a long time and everything.”

 “Because I might be a known acquaintance, so they know that there’s a high chance that if I’m there, you’re there, too,” Jongdae explained with yet another sigh, shaking his head. “If I didn’t know it might risk your security even more, I’d sneak after you if I so had to!”

 Chanyeol stood up and shook his head, placing a hand on top of one of Baekhyun’s on Jongdae’s shoulders.

 “Nope. You gotta stop doing things that involves ‘sneaking’ and the ‘Byun-Park household’, my friend.”

 “I second that,” Baekhyun smirked, nodding towards his husband.

 “Not my fault that you’re both shit at answering the door,” Jongdae complained, before growing serious once more and taking a step back, out of Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s reach. “I’d love to continue this bickering, but we need to get a move on. We have a certain time frame we need to keep.”

 The atmosphere sobered up instantly, both husbands nodding as they got back to work.

 

 One of the times when both Chanyeol and Baekhyun were in the bedroom, with no one else there, Chanyeol dug the USB stick out of his pocket, and pulled Baekhyun close.

 “This is for you,” Chanyeol said, holding the USB up in front of Baekhyun’s face, his other hand on Baekhyun’s lower back to keep them pressed together. “I think you recognize it, but there’s more to it now. A few gifts for you from me. No matter what happens, if you keep it close, you’ll keep a piece of me close as well.”

 “Chanyeol, nothing is going to happen,” Baekhyun said in a low voice, closing his hand around the USB stick nevertheless, both holding on to it for a moment. “I’m your superhero, remember? I’ll keep you safe.”

 Chanyeol gave a smile and nodded, releasing the USB so that only Baekhyun was holding on to it now.

 “I know. And you’ll keep that safe as well. No matter what happens, you’ll keep me safe in some form or the other. I have complete faith in you, Baekhyun. I love you.”

 With a soft kiss, Chanyeol was gone, leaving Baekhyun standing and staring at the little memory device in his hand. _A piece of Chanyeol…_ No matter what, Baekhyun would keep both Chanyeol and the USB safe. Putting the USB in his pocket, Baekhyun made that promise to himself, knowing he would keep it as well.

 

 After having said their goodbyes - “Not goodbye, but see you later!” - Chanyeol and Baekhyun got into the backseat of the car supposed to take them to their new home for at least a little while. The windows were so darkly tinted that no one would be able to see inside, and they could barely see out either. With a nasty feeling growing in his chest, Baekhyun slid into the middle seat so that he could stay close to Chanyeol, who welcomed him with open arms.

 Taking one of Chanyeol’s hands into his own, Baekhyun began to draw aimless pattern across his palm. Their hands always seemed to fit so well together, like puzzle pieces.

 Just like their hearts.

 “What did Jongdae want before we left?” Chanyeol mumbled to Baekhyun, nuzzling his face against Baekhyun’s hair.

 “Just wanted to go over safety precautions again,” Baekhyun answered, fingers writing a single word against Chanyeol’s palm and hoping he would understand. ‘ _Gun_ ’. “I swear, he worries too much…”

 As Baekhyun felt Chanyeol breathe in to talk, he quickly wrote a ‘ _no_ ’ into Chanyeol’s palm.

 Baekhyun was not supposed to have his gun with him. They were supposed to be perfectly safe together with the agents in the car, and one of the safety precautions were to leave the gun behind - though Baekhyun had never understood why. There would be firearms at the safehouse, but Baekhyun still felt like he should be equipped with one on the journey over there.

 So when Jongdae had come over and pulled Baekhyun to the side, giving him a hug and sliding a gun into the waistband of his jeans, Baekhyun had not jumped in surprise, or exclaimed something - not drawn attention to them. He had just hugged Jongdae back and whispered a ‘thank you’, making sure that the gun was properly concealed.

 The gun Chanyeol’s hand now bumped into, before he moved his hand to Baekhyun’s waist.

 Baekhyun continued to play with Chanyeol’s hand, the bad feeling just growing bigger and bigger inside of his chest, curling around his lungs and heart. Something was wrong, something was very wrong, and Baekhyun was so close to making the agents stop the car-

 Chanyeol’s fingers suddenly curled around Baekhyun’s, giving a light squeeze, and Baekhyun looked up to find worry in his husband’s eyes. There was also a question in them, and Baekhyun sighed and closed his eyes as he pressed his cheek against Chanyeol’s shoulder.

 ‘ _Don’t know_ ’, Baekhyun wrote into Chanyeol’s palm, hoping his husband would catch the longer words. ‘ _Something’s wrong_ ’. ‘ _Stay quiet_ ’.

 Chanyeol gave an affirmative in the kiss on Baekhyun’s forehead, and the light squeeze of Baekhyun’s hand.

 Looking up at the rearview mirror, Baekhyun caught one of the agents staring at him. She quickly looked away, but as Baekhyun kept looking, he caught her glancing over three more times.

 Something was very wrong, and Baekhyun suddenly started to doubt his own agency for the first time… Ever.

 

~*~

 

 Sighing to himself, Jongdae walked through the apartment, most of the things packed up and ready to be moved the day after. It was strange seeing it this way, though he had seen it in a similar state when Baekhyun and Chanyeol had first moved into the apartment.

 No one was left here anymore, the husbands being on their way, and the rest of the agents not to return until the following day. It was only Jongdae left, all alone, but with memories whirling around him.

 He had been hesitant the first time Baekhyun had told him about Chanyeol after their first meeting. Even though Baekhyun had not known his name back then, he had still chuckled over the clumsy giant who had almost drenched him in expensive champagne, who looked like he fit in, but did not feel like he fit in. So handsome all dressed up, but obviously slightly out of his water. Knowing that they would probably never meet again, Jongdae did not try to convince Baekhyun to let it go - also knowing that Baekhyun knew that just as well himself.

 Dating civilians was technically allowed, but nobody really did. Too much secrecy involved, especially for something that might not last. Many dated within the agency, or waited until they decided to move on from the secret agent status.

 But Baekhyun met Chanyeol for a second time, and somehow ended up in bed with him. And somehow accidentally managed to write his number on Chanyeol’s thigh. Baekhyun even showed Jongdae a picture of it, asking how screwed he was.

  _"_ _Depends,"_ Jongdae had muttered, feeling a headache forming, because even though the sex might have been an accident, the number and _message_ was not. _"_ _Who did the dicking?"_

 After that, Jongdae had been the witness to how Baekhyun simultaneously grew happier yet more worried. He really enjoyed spending time with Chanyeol, and not only to have sex. Even if Baekhyun never talked much about himself, he still said it felt so _normal_ and _right_ , the smalltalk, the bickering, Chanyeol telling him about what happened during his day or whatever.

 But at the same time, Baekhyun was so aware of the risk he put the other man in just by having limited contact with him. Something could go wrong - as it obviously had - and Baekhyun did not like that. But it just did not seem like he could stay away, and Jongdae wondered several times if it would end in tragedy or not.

 Jongdae went through it all, the first signs of Baekhyun starting to fall, when Baekhyun noticed how Chanyeol lingered over his unexplainable scars and feared being questioned about it, and when Baekhyun almost collapsed into despair over the situation.

 And that moment when Baekhyun had called him, panicked, telling him that they were a couple now. Baekhyun and Chanyeol. Chanyeol had made Baekhyun a song, and Baekhyun had been unable to contain himself any longer. And Jongdae had been happy for Baekhyun, but also so incredibly worried.

 After that, it had been like the floodgates had opened. It did not take long before Chanyeol became a very large part of Baekhyun’s life, it did not take long before Chanyeol finally learned the truth, and it did not take long before they were engaged to get married. Jongdae had worried more and more each and every day leading up to the marriage.

 Until he finally got to meet Chanyeol. Until he finally got to see Baekhyun and Chanyeol together. It was obvious that it was meant to be. They fit together so well, that even though Jongdae was still worried for what might happen, he could not deny that they were meant to be. Neither could he find it in himself to convince them to end it for safety reasons, because it was obvious that it would do no good - to anyone.

 And now, here they were. What they all had been hoping and praying for to never happen, had happened.

 Collapsing into the sofa, Jongdae leaned back with a heavy sigh, throwing an arm over his eyes. He just hoped everything would go well, and that this would soon be over…

 Suddenly, Jongdae’s phone began to vibrate in his pocket, and he frowned as he removed his arm and went to dig it out. Looking at the caller ID, he suddenly found his heart in his throat, quickly answering.

 “Liyin-” was all Jongdae got out before he was interrupted.

  _“Go after them, it’s a trap, you need to get after them now!”_ Liyin more or less screamed into the phone, and immediately, Jongdae jumped up from the sofa and rushed out of the apartment.

 When Jongdae was finally in his car and had gotten all of the information from Liyin, he was so scared that he was shaking. With trembling fingers, he turned the ignition and started the car, before as quickly as possible heading down the same route as the car that was supposed to take Baekhyun and Chanyeol to safety.

 A car that was currently taking them into something on the complete opposite of the spectrum to safety.

 

~*~

 

 The only warning Baekhyun got was one of the agents in the front seat gasping, and then their car was rammed straight in the side, sending them skidding across the road, before hitting the backside of another car, and turning before they finally came to a stop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry I'm a day late! Totally forgot about updating, lol! But here it is, at last! And yes, of course there would be more drama, lol! Anybody have any theories? Anybody wanna share them?? Tune in next (well, this) week for the continuation! (Sorry not sorry about the cliffhanger, lol)


	16. Chapter XVI

 Baekhyun’s ears were ringing when he finally came around, dazedly blinking his eyes to try to clear the dark spots dancing across his vision. Everything seemed to be spinning lightly, and a bit far away, and it confused him for a few seconds.

 As his mind overcame the unconsciousness fully, everything slammed into him head-on. Gasping, he quickly looked over at the agents - both unconscious, if not dead - before his eyes turned to Chanyeol.

 Baekhyun had been rather protected in his position in Chanyeol’s arms, which was probably why he was the only one awake at the moment. Chanyeol, on the other hand, had smashed his head against the window, now blacked out.

 Or worse.

 Panic rising in his throat like bile, Baekhyun ignored how his battered body protested against him moving, quickly getting out of Chanyeol’s arms and unbuckling himself. Putting one foot on the floor between Chanyeol’s feet and one knee next to Chanyeol’s thigh, Baekhyun managed to get into a position where he could get a better look. A better look at the horrible scene.

 On the glass where Chanyeol’s head rested, there were cracks radiating outwards. And some of those cracks were filled in with red.

 Choking on a sob, Baekhyun reached out with shaking hands, cupping Chanyeol’s cheeks and as gently as he possibly could turned his husband’s head. Baekhyun could not see any wounds through the mess of black hair clumped together, but the blood was telling enough. Even if head wounds always bled worse than they were, Baekhyun knew that a bleeding head injury after a car crash was not a good thing.

 Carefully leaning Chanyeol’s head back against the headrest, Baekhyun let his fingers run down that beautiful neck, almost fearful to reach what he was aiming for - and getting the answer to his question. And for a horrible second, Baekhyun’s entire world fell apart, before he finally picked up the faint fluttering against his fingertips - Chanyeol was still alive.

 Forcefully releasing a breath he had been holding for way too long, Baekhyun dragged his hands over his face a couple of times, allowing himself this little moment of breaking down and getting himself back together, before focusing on the situation again. Making sure Chanyeol was somewhat safe, he scrambled back and checked on the agents. They were both alive, barely, but it seemed like Baekhyun was on his own for now.

 A shot was heard, the windscreen shattering, and Baekhyun looked up in shock to find the driving agent with a bleeding hole in his head. Cursing loudly, Baekhyun retreated back into the relative safety of the backseat, as quickly as possible unbuckling Chanyeol and lying him down. Hunkered protectively over his husband, Baekhyun pulled out his gun and checked it, safety off, before he cautiously looked around.

 They were somewhat blocked in by other cars, creating many different hiding spots. Baekhyun needed to somehow get Chanyeol out of there, without injuring him too much, and without being shot himself.

 Multiple shots shattered the window that Chanyeol had knocked his head into, and Baekhyun quickly used his body to shield Chanyeol’s head from whatever pieces that might reach them. Laminated glass did not produce a lot of loose bits, but there were still some, and Baekhyun was not going to let anything that _might_ hurt Chanyeol even come close.

 As soon as the shots ended, Baekhyun pushed himself up with a growl, ignoring the way his head spun a little from the sudden rise, whipping his gun out and shooting at the first gun-holding person he saw. The person went down with a small cry, and Baekhyun felt a sort of primeval satisfaction over it. Another person came into sight, and Baekhyun quickly took aim, but the person managed to evade in behind a car. Baekhyun tsked and hunkered down once more, glancing over at Chanyeol. He was still unconscious, but Baekhyun could _just_ make out the rise and fall of his chest, and that was enough. At least for now.

 Sliding out the clip of his gun, Baekhyun quickly counted how many bullets he had left - too few for his liking. Pushing it back inside, Baekhyun tried to quickly come up with a plan, but he felt rather hopeless about it. They were closed in, he only had a few bullets, and Chanyeol was unconscious. Baekhyun honestly did not know how they could possibly get out of this alive.

 But then Baekhyun stilled as one thought suddenly appeared in his head. Could it… Work?

 Chanyeol had nothing to do with this. Chanyeol was innocent, trapped in this by association with Baekhyun. So what if Baekhyun erased himself from the equation? That could possibly mean Chanyeol’s safety.

 What if Baekhyun let himself be captured, would that mean that they would let Chanyeol be…?

 Shaking his head, Baekhyun dismissed the thought. The risk that Chanyeol would be taken hostage or killed to get Baekhyun to break was too big, plus the fact that Chanyeol needed medical attention as soon as possible, and how would he get it if Baekhyun was not there to somehow get in contact with someone that could help?

 Jongdae. He should try to get in contact with Jongdae. Maybe the other agents had a phone he could use…

 Apparently, Baekhyun’s reprieve was over, new shots being fired, hindering his attempts to dig out a cellphone from someone’s pockets. Hissing in frustration, Baekhyun sat back as he waited for the shots to once again die out. Thought they seemed infinite, he knew that the others were on limited ammo as well. Their limit was just way higher than his.

 As the sound of a car door being opened is heard, Baekhyun realizes with a sinking heart what had happened. As sunlight start to spill through the ever-widening gap in front of him, Baekhyun berates himself for not seeing, not thinking about that possibility. They were using suppressing fire to get him to lay low, and let one of them sneak up to the car.

 Of fucking course.

 As soon as the door was opened enough, Baekhyun threw his body over Chanyeol’s and aimed out through the opening. They had been focusing on suppressing on top, not bottom, and with two well-placed shots, Baekhyun bring two of them down. The door is closed a bit in shock, but leaning back, Baekhyun kicks it open, being rewarded with a thud and a grunt. Eyes ahead, Baekhyun aim for the last person left, but they have moved into cover, and he instead focus on the one on the ground next by the car. A swift shot, and they were down, their gun there for the taking. Baekhyun only had one bullet left, so he quickly squatted down and snatched the gun, before kicking the door closed behind him. With Chanyeol once more safe behind cover, Baekhyun felt a bit better.

 He knew he was being reckless. He knew he was putting himself in danger, but he was pissed and he was on a mission. Kill whatever motherfuckers that were coming after him and his husband, and protect his husband at all costs. Chanyeol would make it out alive, and Baekhyun would make sure of it.

 Using the car they had crashed into and turned almost all the way around as cover, Baekhyun took in the battlefield in front of him. He counted three civilians down, frowning as he could make out signs of ballistic traumas in at least one of them. Whoever was after him did not spare anyone, obviously. All the more reason to get Chanyeol out of there as quickly as possible.

 Bullets hit the metal bonnet, creating sparks and forcing Baekhyun to quickly duck down once more. Chancing a bit, Baekhyun lied down on the ground and went for a low shot, unfortunately missing.

 The sound of breaking glass had Baekhyun frozen. That did not sound like bullets penetrating glass. That sounded like something large breaking glass. Looking over at the car he had been riding in, Baekhyun could see, through the broken safety glass on Chanyeol’s side, the sky out through the back. The sky that should have been obstructed from view by the rear window.

  _Oh no…_

 Scrambling to get up, a barrage of bullets had Baekhyun stumbling backwards again, a string of curses falling from his lips. They had blindsided him again, they had lured Baekhyun out whilst preparing to get inside of the car to take Chanyeol. Was it Chanyeol they had aimed for from the beginning?

 That was not going to happen.

 Taking a deep breath, Baekhyun shot two shots blindly in the direction of the shooter ahead of him, immediately springing up into action, knowing the other would hide for at least a few seconds. Rushing over to the car door, Baekhyun quickly tore it open - and was met by the sight of Chanyeol being hauled out through the back.

 “ _Shit-_ ” the person who was pulling Chanyeol out hissed, quickly hiding behind Chanyeol as Baekhyun fired off a shot at him. Baekhyun could not take a shot now, he could not try to take the man down, unless he wanted to risk Chanyeol.

 Another shooter appeared next to the man manhandling Chanyeol, taking a shot at Baekhyun before he had the chance to react, and fiery pain tore through Baekhyun’s shoulder. Clamping his hand over the wound, Baekhyun gasped at the pain, unfortunately giving the perpetrators enough time to haul Chanyeol out. The sound of slamming doors was all Baekhyun could hear as he hurried to climb into the backseat, seeing the red tail lights of a car speeding away as his heart plummeted and his breathing almost stopped.

 Chanyeol was gone.

 “ _Baekhyun!_ ”

 Baekhyun was still sitting and staring after the car that had completely disappeared by now, when hands came around his shoulders. Striking out without thinking, Baekhyun found himself face to face with Jongdae, who had easily blocked his hit.

 Jongdae was here. But it was too late.

 “Where’s Chanyeol?” Jongdae asked, words stressed and low. Baekhyun glanced in the direction that he had been staring at for a few seconds now - or maybe minutes? Hours?

 “They took him,” Baekhyun managed to get out, but his voice sounded different, even to his own ears. “Lured me out, took him away…”

 Jongdae cursed and looked around, cursing again when noticing the agents - both most probably dead by now - in the front seat, but Baekhyun was too numb to really care.

 “Come on, Baek, let’s go,” Jongdae bit out, taking hold of Baekhyun’s good arm and pulling him out of the car. “Let’s get your shoulder looked at, and then we’re going after those fuckers.”

 That was as good of an incentive as Baekhyun had ever gotten, allowing himself to be hurried over to Jongdae’s car and inside, before they were skidding away from the scene of the accident and kidnapping.

 

~*~

 

 Chanyeol was floating.

 Not in the nice kind of way, no, not at all. It was a shaky float, his head hurting and the pain flaring even more whenever it was harshly stirred. His neck was sore as well, but his limbs were not responding to his commands, so he could not check why it felt so sore. None of his body parts were responding, actually, not even his eyelids. He could get them to lightly flutter, but never open fully.

 It probably had something to do with how his mind felt submerged in molten lead. And that was not a nice feeling.

 Something was wrong, but Chanyeol could not pinpoint just what it was. His mind was barely working, he could not remember anything, memories slipping through his fingers - but there was a word, a name, on his tongue, echoing in his head.

 His very own superhero.

  _Baekhyun._

 

~*~

 

 Thanks to Jongdae’s contacts, they did not need to go to a hospital to tend to Baekhyun’s shoulder. As the bullet was dug out, the wound cleaned, and then stitched up, Jongdae told Baekhyun of Liyin’s call.

 Apparently, the two agents that had picked Baekhyun and Chanyeol up had not been the assigned ones to drive them to the safe house. The assigned ones had been knocked unconscious and left for dead, but been able to get word back to headquarters. Unfortunately, by then it was too late, the car already having left.

 “But why were we rammed? Why did they shoot them?” Baekhyun asked, hissing as the needle went through a particularly sore spot.

 Jongdae shrugged, worry etched into his frown. “Maybe they weren’t seen as reliable? Maybe they didn’t want any loose strings? There could be a thousand and one answers to that question, really.”

 After Baekhyun had been patched up, the two agents once more got into Jongdae’s car, and set off.

 “We’re meeting Liyin, to exchange cars and stuff,” Jongdae said as they drove in silence. “I… I haven’t called it in. That I got you safe and somewhat unharmed. I’ve only been in contact with Liyin, and she hasn’t, as far as I know, told anyone else.”

 Baekhyun turned to look at his partner, nodding with determination.

 “I think that’s for the best. There’s obviously someone on the inside, and I… We need to get him back. As fast as possible.”

 “Yeah, we do. And we will,” Jongdae reassured Baekhyun as they sped into the afternoon.

 

 Driving into the abandoned self-service gas station, Baekhyun and Jongdae stopped next to the black car already there. Liyin quickly jumped out as Jongdae cut the engine, and Baekhyun got out.

 “Baekhyun!” Liyin called out, eyes wide as she took in his state. “Are you injured?”

 “Shot in the shoulder,” Baekhyun answered, motioning towards the shoulder in question with a grimace. “Otherwise it’s just my heart.”

 Liyin’s face softened, a sad look in her eyes as she gently patted Baekhyun’s cheek.

 “He’s still alive, and you’ll get him out soon,” she whispered, and Baekhyun nodded, eyes falling to the concrete beneath them. “Not to be that person, but they’re probably keeping him alive to get to you, and that means the both of you have a chance of getting out alive.”

 “But in what shape will we be? I’m fine, but he… His head, he slammed it against the window in the crash. He was _bleeding_ , noona,” Baekhyun breathed, unable to get himself to say it out louder - because that meant confirming it.

 “All the more reason to get to him as quickly as possible,” Liyin said, handing over a bag of items to Baekhyun. “All you need is in there, and if it’s not in there, it’ll be at your destination. The keys are in the ignition, Jongdae. Stay safe - both of you.”

 “Thank you,” Baekhyun said, pouring all of his sincerity into his words, because they were going out of protocol for his sake. For his and Chanyeol’s sake.

 Liyin smiled as she pulled Baekhyun into a one-armed hug, trying to not agitate his wound too much.

 “Repay me by introducing me to him. I want to meet Chanyeol, Baekhyun.”

 Something thick settled itself into Baekhyun’s throat, but he forced it down as he hugged Liyin back.

 “I will, I promise I will introduce him to you.”

 “Good. Now, go. I have to get back as well, I’m on my own mission.”

 Liyin was already walking past Jongdae as she said the words, but she came to an abrupt stop as Jongdae’s hand closed around her wrist and tugged her back.

 “Wait, what? What are you trying to do?” Jongdae asked, voice unsteady.

 Liyin turned to look at Jongdae, no surprise or shock on her face.

 “There’s obviously a mole in the department. I’m one of very few who actually knows what’s going on, so I need to dig it out,” Liyin answered, before smiling and giving Jongdae’s nose a bop. “You have other things to worry about, Agent Kim. Don’t patronize me, I’ve been doing this for longer than you.”

 “I- That’s not- I’m not patronizing you!” Jongdae said, a bit flustered.

 “Okay, lovebirds, this is all cute and shit, but my husband is possible bleeding out somewhere,” Baekhyun interrupted them. They were running out of time! “Save this for later?”

 Sliding her hand out of Jongdae’s grip, Liyin then pushed him towards Baekhyun, patting his back.

 “See you on the other side.”

 With that, Liyin got into Jongdae’s car, and soon, she was gone. Wordlessly, Baekhyun and Jongdae got into Liyin’s car and set off.

 Going through the bag he had gotten from Liyin, Baekhyun came across an address scribbled onto a piece of paper. After being handed Jongdae’s phone, he punched it into the GPS, and they set off for whatever place Liyin had set up for them.

 

~*~

 

 Chanyeol did not know where he was. A while ago, he had stopped after having been violently thrown around, and now he was lying on something cold and damp. He just did not know on what, or where.

 The ache in his head had settled down a little now - or had he gotten used to it?

 Taking a chance, Chanyeol tried to get his eyes to open once again, and managed to blink them open. Everything was blurry and dark, and the more he tried to focus, the more nauseous he felt.

 Letting his eyes fall closed with a sigh, Chanyeol tried to remember more. He could remember some things now, fragments of memories. He remembered the worried and tense atmosphere, the sound of metal and glass crunching and breaking, screaming…

 And he remembered droopy eyes and a mole above triangle-shaped lips forming a rectangular smile, another mole below the chin, a mole on a cheek, and a mole on a temple, forming a near straight line. But he could not remember the nose, the cheekbones, the jaw - he could not put Baekhyun’s face together completely. And that made his heart hurt a thousand times more than his head.

 

~*~

 

 The address on the piece of paper turned out to be a house on the outskirts of the city. A bit secluded, it looked rather abandoned, but that fit them perfectly.

 “Laptop,” Jongdae spotted as they walked inside, hurrying over to it to see if it was working. “Almost full battery, and the charger is here as well. What more was it in the bag?”

 Baekhyun joined Jongdae on the sofa, pouring the contents of the bag out on the living room table in front of them. Immediately, Jongdae reached for the phone - obviously a burner phone - and unlocked it.

 “There’s a number in here,” Jongdae said, making Baekhyun look up from his rummaging. “The only thing the contact says is ‘7’...”

 “Seven?” Baekhyun echoed, confused. “Why do I recognize that…”

 Jongdae glanced over at Baekhyun, raising an eyebrow. “Should I call it?”

 “I mean, what have we got to loose at this point? We don’t know where to begin, and Liyin provided it for a reason…”

 Chewing on his lower lip, Jongdae contemplated it for a while, before shrugging and pressing the call button. Putting it on speaker, they only had to wait for two signals before the call was picked up.

  _“Yo.”_

 Baekhyun’s eyes widened in shock as Jongdae almost dropped the phone.

 “Luhan-hyung?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm on time and actually remembering to post on AO3 this time~! Uh-oh, things are looking quite bad at the moment, how will this play out?! What role does Luhan play in it all?! Will Liyin succeed with her own mission?! Also, sidenote, Liyin isn't an OC. It's Zhang Liyin, who used to(?) be with SM The Ballad! A friend got me into shipping her and Jongdae, so... Here we are now!


	17. Chapter XVII

 Baekhyun and Jongdae were still staring incredulously at the phone as Luhan explained everything to them.

  _“I owed Liyin a favor, and she called it in now. Not that I wouldn’t help anyways, no one should have to go through something like this. And you both are part of the small circle of people I’m soft for anyway."_

 “But, hyung… We thought you were _dead_ ,” Jongdae whispered, Baekhyun still too shocked to get a single word out.

 A soft chuckle poured from the phone, tinged with a sliver of sadness.

  _“Yeah… I’m sorry about that, but it was a necessity… Too many things were happening, too much was at risk, and it was for the best, simply. Liyin knew because she helped me, which is why I owed her a favor as well."_

 “I feel a bit offended that you didn’t trust us enough to let us know you’ve been alive this whole time,” Baekhyun finally said, tonelessly. Shock was quickly numbing him - it had all been too much for one day, and he was crumbling.

 Silence reigned for a moment, Jongdae’s pitying gaze heavy on Baekhyun’s shoulders, before Luhan once more spoke up.

  _"_ _It’s not as simple as that. You know that. But I understand. I’ve… Been in a similar situation. I’m currently trying to find his position, I have enough information to find him, hopefully soon. If you can give me anything else, it might help a lot."_

 Burying his face in his hands, Baekhyun tried to not break down completely as he answered Luhan’s questions to the best of his abilities, trying to remember as many details as possible.

 After all, Chanyeol’s life was hanging on it, and if they were just a little bit too late, it would be over. Baekhyun would be a widower, and Mongryong fatherless. And that was not something Baekhyun could let happen.

 

 Waiting for Luhan to track down and pinpoint a location, Baekhyun wandered around the living room. Jongdae was sitting in the sofa, chin leaned on his hands, staring at nothing in particular. The silence was choking, and Baekhyun felt like he was about to go crazy. He needed to move, get out of there and go to wherever they were holding Chanyeol, and make sure that he was safe and okay.

 Putting his hands into his back pockets, Baekhyun stilled as his fingertips brushed against something.

  _‘A few gifts for you from me.’_

 Looking over at the laptop sitting on top of the coffee table, Baekhyun quickly strode over to it and picked it up. Jongdae looked up at him in confusion and worry, but Baekhyun only held up the laptop.

 “I’m going to borrow this, there’s something I need to do,” Baekhyun said, not giving Jongdae the chance to give an answer before he set off towards the staircase leading to the upper floor.

 Locating a bedroom, Baekhyun closed himself inside, before sitting down on top of the bed and opening the laptop, letting it whir to life as he pulled the USB out. Turning it over and over in his hands, Baekhyun could not help but marvel over something so small holding something so important to him.

 As soon as the laptop was good to go, Baekhyun plugged the USB into it, and waited as the folder appeared and showed the files.

 They were all audio files, and Baekhyun did not even have to take a guess to know what they were. Songs, songs that Chanyeol had left for him. He already recognized one of them, the song Chanyeol had composed for him early in their relationship - the song about the stars in Baekhyun’s eyes.

 Already feeling the tears gathering, Baekhyun clicked on that one first, needing something familiar.

 It did not take long before silent tears were running down Baekhyun’s cheeks, heart clenching at the intimately known voice floating from the speakers to wrap around him in comfort. It was still as beautiful as the night that Chanyeol had first played the notes, sitting wrapped in his cover, a bit shy, but not hesitant in the least as he showed Baekhyun what he felt. And if there was something that Baekhyun did not ever really need to doubt, it was Chanyeol’s love for him. If he ever did, he just had to listen to this song, and he would remember again.

 After the last note rang out, Baekhyun messily wiped his tears, before looking at the other files. They were all named - Creep, All of Me, Closer - but Baekhyun had not heard them before.

 And so, Baekhyun spent the next hours listening through them all thoroughly, tears flowing until he was too exhausted to cry. All of the songs were slow and heartfelt covers, and all of them resonated deeply within Baekhyun. Chanyeol’s voice was a bit rough, lacking in formal training, but it just highlighted how much natural talent he had. And it just _fit_ so well with the feeling behind the songs, like an unpolished diamond.

 There was just something about Chanyeol’s voice that made him feel so safe and calm, and after a while, Baekhyun managed to drift off to sleep.

 

 “Baekhyun, wake up.”

 A bit dizzy, Baekhyun blinked his eyes open to find Jongdae standing leaned over him. There was still worry on his friend’s face, but now also determination.

 “What?” Baekhyun asked, voice a bit raspy.

 “Luhan found him. We know where Chanyeol is.”

 

 Even though Baekhyun hated it, he was thankful that Jongdae was there to hold him back. Without Jongdae, he would probably have gone in guns blazing, and most likely been shot down before he even found Chanyeol.

 As it was now, Baekhyun was sitting in the passenger seat, trying to focus on the outside to keep calm, but his bouncing knee betrayed the restless mess inside of him.

 “Okay, but you’re really starting to annoy me now, dude,” Jongdae finally muttered, making Baekhyun jerk in surprise. It had been so silent in the car for so long that Baekhyun was too accustomed to it now.

 “Well, ex-fucking-xcuse me for being nervous and impatient,” Baekhyun muttered, wiping his hands on his jeans. “This is not a normal mission, Dae…”

 “I know it’s not, so you really should calm down,” Jongdae said, sounding very pragmatic, and it was honestly getting on Baekhyun’s nerves.

 “Yeah, it’s not that fucking easy,” Baekhyun bit out, before once more turning to look out through the window.

 “Just take a few deep breaths and focus, and you’ll see,” Jongdae continued. “I’m sure we can find a relaxing CD or something somewhere in here, it’s Liyin’s car after all…”

 “I don’t want to listen to a fucking calming CD! I want to get this the fuck over with!” Baekhyun snapped, hands clenched into fists in his lap.

 “Whoa, down boy, don’t go punching the driver,” Jongdae muttered, but quietened down, much to Baekhyun’s happiness.

 A happiness that was short-lived, as Jongdae soon opened his mouth again.

 “Speaking of Liyin… I’ve been thinking about asking her out…”

 Baekhyun turned to incredulously look at Jongdae, not knowing if the other was serious or not.

 “Are you kidding me? We’re on our way to try to save _my husband_ from _dying_ , and you start talking about asking Liyin out? Jongdae, what the actual fuck?” Baekhyun blurted, so incredibly confused about what was going on. “Really? Are you really doing this right now?”

 Jongdae shrugged a little, eyes on the road.

 “I mean, you never know what life brings and I’ve really realized that these last couple of days, and I just thought that maybe I should do something about it,” Jongdae mumbled, and Baekhyun suddenly felt a bit bad about his outburst.

 “Yeah, you’re probably right… Take whatever chance you can get so you won’t miss out on anything or regret stuff,” Baekhyun slowly said, looking down at his hands as he slowly unclenched them.

 “Mm… Oh, look, we’re here!”

 Baekhyun looked around in confusion, and realized that, yes, they had arrived. It took his brain a second, but then he suspiciously looked over at Jongdae.

 “Wait… Did you just distract me until we got here?” Baekhyun slowly asked, eyes narrowing.

 “Well, you were getting pretty annoying, so maybe I did,” Jongdae said with a shrug as he parked the car, and looked over at Baekhyun with a small smile. “You’re feeling a bit better and calmer now as well, aren’t you?”

 Baekhyun sighed, because even though he hated to admit it, Jongdae was right. He was feeling a bit calmer and better now, and Baekhyun guessed he should feel thankful. And he would feel it, but he would not say it, because he really did not need Jongdae to hold that over him.

 “So, was it all bullshit?” Baekhyun asked as they prepared.

 “About Liyin?” Jongdae asked, and Baekhyun nodded. “No… Not all of it. I have been thinking about it lately… Really, you never know when you or your loved ones will be kidnapped and or killed, and I don’t believe in keeping people safe by keeping them away. I think you should live life to the fullest, so you have no regrets when you inevitably die.”

 “Very poetic,” Baekhyun snorted. “...Even though I agree.”

 Jongdae flashed a smile, before cocking his gun.

 “Ready?”

 Baekhyun nodded. “Let’s do this.”

 

 From the information that they had gotten from Luhan, they knew that getting inside would probably not be that hard. It was on the _inside_ that most dangers probably waited, moving around over several planes, and they might have to go through them all to find Chanyeol.

 But Baekhyun was more than willing to do so, because he would stop at nothing to find his husband, and he would certainly not mind taking a few of the assholes out on his way.

 “We stick together, no rushing inside and letting them know we’re coming,” Jongdae whispered as they made their way over to the building. “We don’t want them to call for backup. It’s just in, find Chanyeol, and then out, okay? No murderous rampage, Byun.”

 “You say that as if _I’m_ the one who goes on the murderous rampages, Kim,” Baekhyun muttered back. “I’m not some rookie out on my first mission, I know what to do, I know what I’m risking.”

 Jongdae gave a shrug. “No harm in repeating the important stuff.”

 “Less repeating, more saving,” Baekhyun said, to which Jongdae gave a mock salute.

 

 They managed to get to a door without using their guns once, taking down the three men on their way through much more silent chokeholds. No need to alert anyone already. With Baekhyun on the side of the door, Jongdae gave him a nod, before he quickly opened the door, and Baekhyun headed inside, gun up and at the ready as he took in the dark room. They seemed to be in a hallway, and at the moment there was no one there.

 Together, they began to move deeper into the house, Baekhyun keeping a lookout forwards, whilst Jongdae covered the back. They came across a few doors leading into rooms, but found them all empty.

After some time, they came across a staircase, leading down into the basement and up to the upper levels. Looking over at Jongdae, Baekhyun motioned towards it, before pointing upwards, but Jongdae shook his head and pointed downwards. Questionable people had a tendency to keep their secrets in the basement or the equivalent, it was just a cliché that was greatly enforced, so going down was probably the best choice.

 As Baekhyun stepped down onto the first step, he heard two shots quickly being fired after each other, but coming from two different directions. Spinning around, he found Jongdae with his raised gun smoking, staring at something. And following his line of sight, Baekhyun found a guy lying on the ground, and it was not that hard to imagine what had happened.

 “Guess they know we’re here now,” Jongdae muttered, before motioning for Baekhyun to go down. “Hurry, let’s get down and do a search before they start swarming.”

 Not caring about being silent anymore, Baekhyun rushed downstairs, Jongdae hot on his heels. As they reached the bottom, someone swung for them, but Baekhyun dodged it easily, giving Jongdae the opportunity to shoot the guy. Pressing his back against the wall, Baekhyun aimed down one side of the hallway, catching a man moving towards them, and shooting him, just as Jongdae turned down the other side and shot another man heading for them.

 “Left or right?” Jongdae called out as they stayed in position.

 “My right!” Baekhyun called out, and they began to move once again, as fast as they could with their backs towards each other. Doors opened and a few people ran out, but together, Baekhyun and Jongdae managed to take most of them down before the others even had the chance to react.

 At one point, though, Baekhyun heard Jongdae curse as he stumbled back into Baekhyun’s back, but Baekhyun managed to keep them both upright.

 “Where?” Baekhyun asked, adrenaline pumping through his veins as he was on high alert, heart doing double time.

 “Shoulder, keep going,” Jongdae hissed, voice tense. And even though Baekhyun was worried, he called an affirmative, before he started to move again.

 They were too deep now, and it would be a failure to go back out again now. After all, Chanyeol might not be alive if they retreated and regrouped.

 Moving on, they managed to stay somewhat in one piece, Baekhyun having a bullet or two gracing him, and he heard Jongdae mutter, but both stayed almost as intact as they had been whilst going inside.

 The bad guys were not faring as well, incapacitated or bleeding out, a few worse than that, but Baekhyun tried to not take his rage out on them. After all, most of them probably had families, doing this out of money or misguided loyalty, and if he could help them get out of this horrible job by injuring them non-fatally, that would be some kind of comfort - he assumed. But he did not like it.

 He wanted to tear through the entire house, upend it and massacre everyone inside, to find and save Chanyeol, to bring justice upon the people that had even _dared_ to lay a hand on his husband. Vengeful, was what Baekhyun’s very soul was, and he felt like he was burning up in fury.

 But it all drained out of him, leaving him almost stumbling, when he finally found Chanyeol. Seeing his husband lying in a pile on the floor, unmoving, broke something inside of Baekhyun, and he stepped away from Jongdae to rush inside of the room some way away, ignoring Jongdae calling it for him.

 Chanting Chanyeol’s name, Baekhyun fell to his knees next to the taller, hands fluttering in the air just above the body, unsure, not daring to touch. The next thing he heard was a door slamming closed, and looking up, Baekhyun found the very person he had spied on so long ago - had it really just been a little over a week? - sneering down at him.

 “I had my doubts about if you’d actually be stupid enough to show up or not, but here we are,” the asshole said, the fire starting to slowly come back to life inside of Baekhyun. “Offering yourself to me on a plate like this because of him? Stupid.”

 “Having bad guy monologues never ends up well for the bad guy,” Baekhyun goaded the other, knowing Jongdae was on the other side, wanting to have the man turn around so he could reach for the gun lying next to him on the ground. He feared what would happen if he went for it now, not wanting to risk Chanyeol more than he already had.

 “Which is why I’ll keep it short, Mr. Byun,” the man darkly snickered. “How many sins are you up in, Mr. Byun? Killing, fucking another man… That’s at least two. I have another question; why did you get yourself a weakness like _him_?”

 “Fuck off,” Baekhyun snarled, slowly inching his hands closer to the gun.

 But just before Baekhyun reached it, it was kicked out of his reach, before the same foot came down on his bad shoulder and pushed him backwards, hard. And even though he tried to catch himself, the pain was too great, making him crash into Chanyeol’s limp body.

 A weak whimper was heard, and Baekhyun felt like sobbing over this single sign of life from his husband, but he _hated_ hearing Chanyeol like that. Chanyeol should not whimper on a dirty floor, at the mercy of a corrupted fucker.

 “Oh, would you look at that, he’s actually still alive!” the man exclaimed, sounding way too happy about it, and Baekhyun feared the implications of it. “Actually thought he’d succumbed to his injuries, he was puking _a lot_ on the way over here.”

 Baekhyun’s blood ran cold, but he tried to keep himself together as he checked on Chanyeol, bringing him onto his side so he would not choke if he puked again.

 “Couldn’t even stand properly, stumbling around and mumbling…”

 Panic rose until Baekhyun was choking on it, trying to tune the other out as he willed Chanyeol to wake up, look up at him, something, _anything_. Puking, troubles moving, confused speech, those were not good signs. It was signs for traumatic brain injury, something that Chanyeol more than probably was suffering from after the car crash, and it might be of a moderate sort.

 And if it was, Chanyeol might already be too far gone to be able to be saved.

 “You only have yourself to blame for this. You put him into this situation.”

 The words echoed inside of Baekhyun, ringing too true, and as the fire roared, so did Baekhyun. Springing onto his feet, he rushed at the guy, somewhere in the back of his head realizing that he was blinded by rage, but just. Not. _Caring_.

 Of course, all of Baekhyun’s training, all of his years being tempered into a good agent, went straight out of the window, and even though the man was not as well-versed in fighting, it did not take him much to bring Baekhyun back down, being both taller and stronger than Baekhyun. Brain over brawn, but when it was brawn against brawn, the strongest won.

 But Baekhyun did not stay down. How could he do that? It was not only him at danger here, and _this time_ , he would keep Chanyeol safe. And so Baekhyun continued to get up, each and every time he was brought down, fueling himself on the fire inside of him.

 “You’re so _obstinate_!” the man growled when he managed to make Baekhyun fall down onto the floor, and quickly pulled a gun out and shot. “Stay the fuck down!”

 Baekhyun screamed out in anguish and pain, the fire that had coursed through his veins now gathering together in his thigh. He had been shot in the thigh before, but it had never been like _this_. Now something was _broken_.

 The man sighed as he stepped around Baekhyun, throwing his hands into the air.

 “This is fun and all, but I think we’re getting close to your demise, Mr. Byun. This has already dragged on for far too long…”

 But Baekhyun was not listening to the man anymore, his full focus on something else, _someone else_. Because even though it had just been a whisper of his name, Baekhyun had heard it, and looking over at Chanyeol, blinking through his tears, Baekhyun saw that his husband’s eyes were open. Barely, just barely, but they were. And he was reaching out, trying to get to Baekhyun, but his limbs did not seem to function properly, not coordinating, leaving him scrambling around weakly on the floor.

 Pushing through the pain, Baekhyun began to drag himself towards Chanyeol, needing to be close. Chanyeol was alive. Chanyeol was awake. And Baekhyun needed to hold him, hold him as close as he possibly could.

 “Aw, look at that, the two fags reuniting! How touching! You know what? I’ll be gracious and send you both off together, isn’t that nice of me?”

 Finally managing to get to Chanyeol, Baekhyun pulled the trembling man close, holding him and petting through his sweat-matted hair to comfort him. This was it, and the least Baekhyun could do was make it as peaceful as possible for Chanyeol…

 The door burst open, and Baekhyun opened his eyes in shock to find Jongdae striding inside, breathing hard as he emptied his gun into the man. Shot after shot after shot, until the man was lying in a pool of his own blood on the floor.

 Only then did Jongdae look over at Baekhyun and Chanyeol, grunting a little as he wiped his forehead.

 “Guess it was me who went on a murderous rampage…,” Jongdae muttered, and Baekhyun could not help the shocked chuckle-sob falling from his lips. “I’m calling an ambulance, try to keep him alive.”

 Nodding, Baekhyun tried as well as he could to wipe his tears away as he looked down at Chanyeol, who had closed his eyes again. Stroking his husband’s cheek, Baekhyun did not dare to shake him, not wanting to worsen his injuries.

 “I-is it over?” Chanyeol breathed, and Baekhyun almost collapsed in relief.

 “Yeah, it’s over,” Baekhyun mumbled, pressing soft kisses to Chanyeol’s cheek.

 “Your leg… I saw…”

 But Baekhyun hushed Chanyeol, shaking his head.

 “Don’t worry about me, I’m fine, stay quiet and try to hold on, the ambulance is on its way. I don’t want you to give up so I lose you after everything I’ve gone through to save you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is it!  
> ...But not really. It says there's still one chapter to go, right? We gotta have an epilogue after all, right! I can't just end like this, not after all they've been through... ;)


	18. Chapter XVIII - Epilogue

 After Chanyeol’s kidnapping, Baekhyun decided to retire.

 Being stuck in a hospital bed for a few weeks forced Baekhyun to do a lot of thinking, and he decided that it would be for the best. He was diagnosed with a partially shattered femur, and even though the surgery was successful, he had a long period of healing in front of him.

 Chanyeol, strangely - or maybe not - faced a shorter recovery. Even with a moderate traumatic brain injury he was otherwise pretty intact, and even though it had taken him some time to get medical attention, he made it out just fine. He suffered from some speech impairment and memory difficulties for the first week or so, but therapy and medication quickly helped him get back onto his feet.

 Much to Baekhyun’s chagrin.

 “You were almost _dead_ , yet I’m the one confined to a hospital bed still!” Baekhyun whined one day, feeling just generally tired of everything.

 Chuckling, Chanyeol propped his chin up on his hand, leaning close as he brushed Baekhyun’s hair out of his eyes, ever so gently.

 “You’ll get out of this hospital bed soon enough, baby,” Chanyeol said, making Baekhyun pout even more.

 “Are you using it as an endearment, or calling me a an actual baby?” Baekhyun asked, earning himself a grin.

 “Both,” Chanyeol answered, laughing as Baekhyun began to swat at him. “Mostly as an endearment! Okay?”

 Huffing a little, Baekhyun settled down, leaning back against his pillows as the playfulness ran off of him just as quickly as it had come.

 “I don’t want to do this anymore.”

 The whispered words had made Chanyeol freeze, and Baekhyun had been quick to reach out and cup his husband’s cheek.

 “Not our marriage, silly, don’t go all anxious on me now,” Baekhyun clarified with a small smile. “I just… I’m not going to go back to active duty agent again. With my leg… I’m going to ask for a desk job instead.”

 Of course, that was not all that lay behind Baekhyun’s decision - Chanyeol’s kidnapping had very much to do with it as well. Baekhyun was scared, _terrified_ even, that it would happen again. And he did not love the agent gig enough to willingly risk going through something like that again.

 Chanyeol was more important. But Baekhyun told himself that Chanyeol’s security was just a small part of why he had decided on quitting, to help ease the guilt he felt. To help ease the guilt Chanyeol would feel about it without a doubt. Chanyeol was too kind-hearted, and he knew that being an agent meant a lot to Baekhyun, so he would of course attribute Baekhyun’s quitting to himself, and feel like a burden. But Baekhyun did not want that. Baekhyun had had enough excitement to last him a lifetime and some more, and did not need any more. To live a quiet life with Chanyeol did not sound too bad. Not bad at all, honestly.

 “They’ll probably recommend the same, my rehabilitation will be long, and I might never get the same mobility back, making me sort of a liability out on the field,” Baekhyun continued as he saw Chanyeol’s eyebrows draw together, confusion and sadness in his eyes. “Which much likely will lead to me making more mistakes, and you probably getting kidnapped again. And I don’t think your pretty little head can endure that a second time.”

 Chanyeol gave a sort of half-smile, glancing away from Baekhyun and down at the blanket covering him instead.

 “I… Don’t want you to throw away your dream job just because you’re scared that I’ll get hurt,” Chanyeol mumbled, staying true to Baekhyun’s suspicions. “It’s not fair to you…”

 Baekhyun snorted and shook his head. “I don’t know if you actually saw the X-ray images or not, but my leg is pretty darn fucked up at the moment, and I really don’t know how well I’ll be after I’m fully healed, but I don’t think I’ll be _that_ well. Chanyeol, don’t worry, I’ve thought a lot about this, and it’s mostly because of my own limitations.”

 “Wow, should I feel offended now that you told me my almost dying is not a big reason for you to quit your job?” Chanyeol asked, tone still hesitant, eyes only flickering up every now and then to look at Baekhyun, and it honestly made Baekhyun’s heart ache a little bit.

 “I just can’t say anything right, can I?” Baekhyun dramatically sighed, letting his head flop back against the pillow. “I’ll just never say anything again!”

 The smile on Chanyeol’s lips grew just a tad bit as he began to play with Baekhyun’s fingers, being as careful as ever, like Baekhyun was made of glass. And sure, Baekhyun was pretty injured at the moment, but his fingers were nowhere near bad enough to warrant the treatment that they were getting from Chanyeol.

 “Chanyeol. Stop blaming yourself. It’s my decision, and it’s final. There are more things involved than just you. So don’t feel bad about it.”

 And even though Chanyeol nodded in acknowledgement, he was still awfully quiet for the next few days, no matter how much Baekhyun joked around or whined or whatever. But Baekhyun did not give in, he had made up his mind, and Chanyeol would just have to accept it. Which he in the end did, to Baekhyun’s relief.

 It would be kind of odd to rescue the guy just to have them separating over disagreements over Baekhyun’s very much dangerous job that got them into the whole mess from the beginning.

 

 The agency was not hard to convince to give Baekhyun a desk job, because even though they would miss him in the field, his knowledge and skills were also great to have from inside of the office. And it was a risk to them, the fact that Baekhyun was a bit defect nowadays, so it would be better for them to keep him behind a desk.

 Jongdae was of course totally and completely and _utterly_ devastated by this - in his own words - but he quickly admitted that he was very much fine with it since that meant that he could get Liyin as a partner instead. Baekhyun felt a bit betrayed by this, but he quickly got over it.

 Chanyeol, on the other hand, was near ecstatic - at least once he got over his guilt. Since Baekhyun worked from town, he would come home at the end of every workday, and not be away on missions for several days at a time.

 It also meant that Baekhyun went a bit more easy on Chanyeol regarding the workout and the gun training. It still happened, because they needed to keep in shape and their memory fresh - Baekhyun’s words. But Chanyeol was completely fine with that; holding a gun every now and then was preferable to holding a gun at least once a week.

 

 A year went by rather silently, and Baekhyun knew that he had made the right choice by quitting his active agent duties. It took some time, but he no longer felt the need to constantly look over his shoulder whenever they were outside together, did not feel the need to watch every window to make sure no one was surveilling them. Of course, Baekhyun did not completely let up on his precautions, but he was much more relaxed nowadays.

 Deciding that the city was a bit too fast-paced for them, Baekhyun and Chanyeol made the decision to move into a nice little house in the suburbs - after making sure that the area was a bit more accepting of them. Chanyeol fulfilled a dream of his by getting a dog, and Baekhyun brought Mongryong home. And so they suddenly went from single parent, to fathers of two. And Baekhyun really enjoyed the change.

 But a change that Baekhyun certainly did _not_ enjoy, was how careful Chanyeol had become with him. Sure, Baekhyun had been a mess after the kidnapping, and it taken a long time to get back to full mobility, but that did not mean that Chanyeol had to keep treating him as if he was made from glass.

 The annoyance over being handled with gloves finally got to Baekhyun one late afternoon, as they were training together. Even then, Chanyeol was holding back, trying to use enough force to keep Baekhyun from taking him down, but not enough to injure Baekhyun. Which Baekhyun found rather stupid, because Baekhyun had several years of training behind him, and Chanyeol needed to use more than he was to efficiently handle Baekhyun.

 So when Baekhyun brought down and pinned Chanyeol to the ground for the umpteenth time, Baekhyun did not let him up. Holding one of Chanyeol’s arms behind his back - enough to restrain the taller, but not to actually hurt him - Baekhyun leaned in to whisper.

 “I thought we’ve already had a discussion about not being so careful with me?”

 “You were more hurt this time around,” Chanyeol grunted, trying to turn, but Baekhyun did not allow him to.

 “Hm, but I’m healed now, it’s been almost a year,” Baekhyun murmured as he nuzzled into Chanyeol’s neck, feeling more than hearing the trembling breath Chanyeol took. “We’ve barely done anything, and I’m missing your dick…”

 Chanyeol choked on something, and Baekhyun used the opportunity to flip his husband over and pin his hands above his head.

 “I don’t want to hurt you,” Chanyeol managed to get out, face red, and Baekhyun felt his heart swell before melting into a pool of love.

 “I actually think that they say that the part of the bone that was broken heal to become the strongest part,” Baekhyun said, grinning darkly. “So, I mean… It should be stronger than before, so you shouldn’t have to worry, but rather the opposite…”

 Baekhyun watched as Chanyeol’s pupils expanded, the taller licking his lips, and the fire in Baekhyun’s stomach flared.

 “Baekhyun, I-”

 There was still hesitation in Chanyeol’s voice, and Baekhyun quickly interrupted him.

 “Chanyeol. Is it because you don't want to, or because you're afraid to hurt me?” Baekhyun asked, rolling his hips as he felt Chanyeol harden beneath him.

 A breathless moan fell from Chanyeol’s lips, eyes fluttering shut for just a second before opening, darker than before.

 “Because I'm afraid to hurt you, of course,” Chanyeol huffed out, voice darker and more raspy, making Baekhyun bite down on his lower lip. “I've _ached_ for you, _god_ , you have no idea!”

 “Then let’s rectify that, baby,” Baekhyun purred, leaning in to nibble at Chanyeol’s throat, smirking as Chanyeol arched off of the ground slightly and moaned. “Let me take care of your ache…”

 Then all of a sudden, Baekhyun was the one pinned on the ground, blinking up at Chanyeol in surprise, because what? How did he even do that?

 “Baekhyun, I’m serious,” Chanyeol stressed in a low voice, concern deep in it, “if you even feel a smidgen of pain, let me know.”

 Baekhyun smiled softly as he nodded, caressing Chanyeol’s cheek.

 “I will,” he promised, and then he was suddenly yanked up onto his feet. “Okay, you need to stop throwing me around like this, because first of all, how the fuck, and second of all-”

 Before Baekhyun had the chance to finish his sentence, Chanyeol had picked him up and thrown him over his shoulder, tearing a small scream from Baekhyun’s throat.

 “Park Chanyeol, what are you doing!” Baekhyun screeched as he began to slap Chanyeol’s behind, but Chanyeol just continued walking, whistling on his way.

 “If we’re going to do this, we’re going to do it _comfortably_ ,” Chanyeol said, sounding way too excited about something he had feared just a minute or so ago, patting Baekhyun’s butt. “I’m too old for sex on the floor.”

 Baekhyun could do nothing more but groan before he was slowly lowered to the ground, the both of them now inside of their bedroom. Chanyeol gently kicked the door closed behind them, not wanting to be disturbed by the children right now.

 “Since I promised I’ll let you know if I feel any pain at all, you have to promise to not go easy on me,” Baekhyun said, cupping Chanyeol’s cheeks and locking their gazes together. “I’ll not break, I promise. Test me, and see for yourself, so you can get over this.”

 “Why do I always have to go full out to get over traumas and things?” Chanyeol whined, and Baekhyun quickly kissed his pout. “But sure, fine, I promise.”

 As soon as Baekhyun got his promise, he gave a smirk, and pushed Chanyeol down onto their bed. Chanyeol did not even have the time to catch his breath before Baekhyun was on top of him, stealing it away again.

 Clearly in a rush, Baekhyun tore at the their clothes, leaving Chanyeol giving a breathless chuckle as he was undressed.

 “Maybe you should slow down?” Chanyeol suggested, but Baekhyun looked up at him with raised eyebrows. “Just saying, enjoy the moment and all that.”

 “Oh, but I’m going to enjoy you all night,” Baekhyun innocently said as he moved down Chanyeol’s body, quickly tugging Chanyeol’s sweatpants and underwear off, and Chanyeol’s heart hitched in his chest.

 ...And maybe other things as well.

 Baekhyun wasted no time, pressing kisses in a straight line from Chanyeol’s sternum and down to his waist, but Chanyeol did not mind in the least. He knew he would not last long anyway - and it seemed like they both were too impatient at the moment.

 When Baekhyun’s lips wrapped around Chanyeol, Chanyeol almost screamed out loud, one hand coming down to fist in his husband’s hair, trembling as he tried to hold himself back from both pushing Baekhyun down, and thrusting up himself. The struggle was real as Baekhyun slid further down, and Chanyeol had to bite down so hard on his lower lip that he tasted blood.

 “Ba- _ah_ , Baek, you gotta stop, I can’t- _fuck_ ,” Chanyeol rambled, trying so hard to hold back, probably gripping Baekhyun’s hair a bit too hard, but unable to let go.

 But it was a lost cause as Baekhyun moaned around him, the vibrations not pushing Chanyeol over the edge, but hurling him over it.

 “Oh, _fuck_ ,” Chanyeol groaned out through clenched teeth, eyes rolling back as his entire body seized up, the orgasm tearing through his body almost painful.

 Blanking out, it took Chanyeol a second or two to realize that Baekhyun had crawled back up, hovering above him and licking slick lips.

 “I still find post-blowjob kisses lowkey nasty,” Chanyeol found the strength to say, and Baekhyun gave a quiet laugh. “But you’re too sexy for me to actually mind…”

 Leaning down a little, Baekhyun gave Chanyeol’s lips a quick kitten lick, before glancing down.

 “So, how much recovery time you gonna need?” Baekhyun asked, and Chanyeol’s cheeks heated up.

 Glancing down as well, Chanyeol realized that Baekhyun was very much hard at the moment, and it looked a bit painful. Yet Baekhyun did not push Chanyeol into anything, instead taking care of Chanyeol and putting his needs first.

 It made Chanyeol feel all fluffy and warm inside, but the picture Baekhyun was painting above him was also enough for Chanyeol to feel himself start to tingle again.

 “Um, give me a moment,” Chanyeol mumbled, awkwardly avoiding Baekhyun’s gaze. “A very short moment, maybe… But also, you don’t really need me, hm, at full mast.”

 It took Baekhyun a moment to catch on to what Chanyeol meant, but as he did, a dark glint appeared in his eyes, and Chanyeol would lie if he said it did not affect him.

 “Oh, baby, you’re treating me today,” Baekhyun drawled, voice lower than normal, and Chanyeol did not even try to fight the shiver going down his spine. “Be right back, I’ll just get the lube.”

 Chanyeol had thought that his blush had been going down, but it went up to eleven again as he sputtered, flailing in Baekhyun’s direction as the other cackled and danced out of reach. Because Chanyeol had never really gotten over that word, still reacted to it, and much of it was Baekhyun’s fault.

 But Chanyeol was very thankful for both the lube and Baekhyun - especially the two of them combined - so he did not mind.

 

 Much later that night, as they lay together on the bed, legs tangled together and just trying to catch their breaths, Baekhyun gently slapped Chanyeol’s stomach, making his husband jump a little.

 “What was that for?” Chanyeol asked, clearly confused, even though Baekhyun’s eyes were closed and he was not looking at the taller.

 “For you always overreacting when I’m injured,” Baekhyun mumbled, stifling a yawn against Chanyeol’s skin. “Yet again I’m still completely fine after sex, feeling even better than I did before it.”

 Rolling over onto his side, Chanyeol snuggled as close as he could to Baekhyun, nuzzling into the shorter’s neck.

 “Sometimes I need reassurance,” Chanyeol breathed against Baekhyun’s skin, goosebumps rising all the way down Baekhyun’s arms and chest.

 “Or just start listening to me,” Baekhyun argued.

 Chanyeol was still for a moment, before he began to attack Baekhyun’s neck with tiny kisses, drawing giggles out of Baekhyun.

 All of a sudden, they were interrupted by muffled whines and claws against wood, and both looked over towards the door.

 “I guess the kids are missing us,” Baekhyun mumbled as he gently pushed Chanyeol off of him, groaning as he sat up. “Damn, I’m getting too old for this…”

 “Sex?” Chanyeol asked as he also sat up, wincing over the come painting his chest.

 “No, the several rounds of sex,” Baekhyun clarified, standing up and dragging Chanyeol with him. “Quick cleanup, and then we’ll take the kids on a walk.”

 Chanyeol smiled softly as he leaned down and placed a kiss on Baekhyun’s lips, and Baekhyun could not help but marvel over how much he loved Chanyeol.

 “Sounds great. Even though I’m not sure I’ll be able to handle a long walk…”

 Baekhyun burst out laughing as Chanyeol began to hobble towards their bathroom, pressing a hand against his lower back and grimacing, clearly exaggerating.

 “I promise I’ll give you a massage when we get back,” Baekhyun said, giving Chanyeol’s behind a pat, and Chanyeol immediately stood up straight as he grinned.

 “I really love you, you know that, right?” Chanyeol chirped.

 Pulling Chanyeol to a stop, Baekhyun cupped his cheeks, Chanyeol blinking down at him in surprise.

 “I know, and I love you so incredibly much,” Baekhyun whispered, before pulling Chanyeol down into a soft kiss that had happiness so profound bubble through Baekhyun’s veins, making him both want to cry in joy, and scream out his love from the rooftop.

 And then they were yet again interrupted by even needier whines, and they chuckled as they hurried to clean up and get dressed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, holy shit, this is it - this is the end. The end to this (messy) journey. Wow. And in time for Baekhyun's birthday as well, lol! The amazing (unintentional) timing :')  
> Anyway, it's a bit bittersweet finally letting this story go, because it's been fun! I've really enjoyed writing it, and see how it went from cute Halloween agent smut, to this monster... And yes, it is a monster, it was at 52k before updating with this chapter, ah... I hope you enjoyed it, even with the messy storyline, and got a lot of enjoyment out of it! At the moment I'm mostly writing KaiSoo (both fic fests and on my own), but hopefully I'll soon be able to get an old BaekYeol fic up, if anyone of you are interested!  
> Leave a comment and let me know what you thought about this story, and goodbye for now~!

**Author's Note:**

> This is my new little baby, look at it go :') but seriously, if I can manage to get it out properly, this will be an amazing fic - I can feel it! And I'm just so soft for both Baekhyun and Chanyeol, this everything just makes me so soft!  
> And yes, they are dressed as the Joker and a vampire at the end, like from the SM Halloween party, because how could I not do that, lol?


End file.
